Bloodstained Devotion
by ShinigamiDeathscytheSan
Summary: Heero is a vampire, changed 200 years ago in the beginning of the After Colony era. When he meets a young human, by the name of Duo, the calm repetition of his vampiric life is completely lost. He is no longer alone. He is no longer himself. Yaoi 1x2, AU
1. Like No Other

**Well! here's the first chapter of this fic! it's still in progress, i'm working on chapter four, but i will finish it for sure. i promise you guys i will XD i'm really enjoying it so far-its fun to write. i hope you guys like it, although vampire!Heero is a little cliche. **

**well, enjoy! and merry christmas!  
**

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Bloodstained Devotion

Chapter 1

Like No Other

There is nothing like feeling a human struggle against you as the first drops of blood are drawn, nothing like the sweet sense of fear emanating from the stranger's body that you clutch so close. There is nothing like the feel of your victim going weak and finally collapsing into you, signaling that it is almost time for you to stop, given you intend to let them live; if their blood is too sweet to savor only one time...

It is with these thoughts, that I prowl the town at midnight, searching for any strangers who might be out wandering, any windows of the many buildings that are lit, a sure sign that its occupant is still awake.

In only a matter of minutes, I spot an apartment building with a lighted window on the top floor. I start walking towards the building, only a step, and as the second pace is complete, I am standing in the room with the light on. It is a quaint room, furnished simply with a bed, desk and dresser. The door to the adjoining bathroom is closed, light coming out from under the door. I can hear the sink running within. All is quiet in the next few moments, before the door opens and a young man—no older than the age I appeared to be—steps out. He does not notice me. In the frozen, long, yet short moments that he is unknowing of my presence, I take in all that I can from what I see.

His hair is long, longer than I've ever seen on a man. It is bound in a loose braid, as if he hadn't bothered with it since early this morning. He wore a pair of loose, low-rise sweats, which gently hugged his hips and dragged on the floor behind his heels. The long sleeve shirt he wore was tight, however, making his lithe muscles seem well defined against the shadow of the solid black fabric. But that was when he saw me. His eyes were violet, so full of life—a complete contrast to my cold, emotionless cobalt blue. Before even a gasp could pass by his perfect, incredibly kissable lips, I had my arms wrapped around him in an iron grip. I had one hand at the back of his head, tilting it to the side and leaving his neck bare. The pale skin was just as beautiful as the rest of him.

The young man began to thrash out against me, however, hitting and kicking at all the places that would've surely brought me to my knees, had I been human. Sure, I was easily susceptible to wounds, but nothing from an unarmed human that I had in my clutches could bother me in any way. And yet I thought to myself, _'Good. He's a fighter.'_

With a fang-baring smirk, my eyes locked with his for the briefest of moments, before I leaned in and plunged my sharp fangs into the delicate skin of his neck. His body froze, shuddered against mine for a moment, before he let out a strangled cry of agony. I just held him still, knowing that if he struggled, he'd only do himself more damage; I didn't want to leave any unnecessary marks on his beautiful skin—even the two from my fangs were more than enough. His outburst of a cry had been reduced to small, whimpering gasps of distress; the weakening, fearful sounds slipping past his lips like someone who had given up the fight to live... He surely had.

Finally, with him beginning to cooperate, I was able to really pay attention to the hot, red liquid that I was stealing from his lithe body. I noticed a distinct difference in the taste of his blood. It had an almost... metallic hint to it. I instantly knew that this man was of the colonies, was born from a test tube rather than a human mother. Some vampires I knew hated the difference, claimed that the colonists were only 'imitation prey', but I thought differently... the colonists had some of the sweetest blood I'd ever tasted, and there were so few of them here on Earth... And as a further note, his blood held a wonderful richness that I could not define, something hidden within that stood in the shadows, only partly visible... I would definitely be leaving this man alive. His blood was simply too sweet to taste only once.

The man struggled weakly against me, his stamina fading—I could feel his pulse beginning to slow. And soon, it was only his hands that were weakly pushing against me, his body too weak to act as instinct directed it to. It was clear that he expected death, that he did not believe he would wake once the darkness took him. But he was wrong. Because I'd be coming back. I could already feel an addiction starting to take hold. This man's blood... it was like nothing I had ever tasted before. And the way his small body fit against mine, the traces of warmth radiating from his pallid skin... I knew I'd never settle for the blood of an average human ever again.

His breath came in shaky, labored rasps now, and I knew it was time I finally released him. The man was still conscious, if only just, and I felt him shudder against me, ever so slightly, as I pulled my fangs from his neck and licked my lips. His legs gave way beneath him not a moment later, and with the quietest of distressed whimpers, he collapsed into me, unconscious. I waited a moment before reacting, licking at the two small holes that I had made in his throat, tasting his blood one last time for tonight. Carefully, I leaned him back in my arms, and then lifted him up. He was so light... I briefly wondered if I had taken too much blood from such a small body.

In four steps, I was at the side of the unmade bed, lying the man down on it and pulling the many covers up over him. If I was going to let him live, I had to make sure he actually did... especially since I might have taken more blood than I should have. He had a distressed expression on his perfect face, something that I had grown used to seeing on all the corpses that I had drained dry. With a rare, nearly inaudible sigh, I entered the bathroom across the room and found a small dispenser with tiny paper cups. I filled one up in the sink, then brought it over and helped him drink it, knowing reflex would force him to swallow the cool, human-life sustaining, liquid. I did this a few times, knowing that humans had to replenish the water in their bodies if they ever wanted to regain the blood that had been lost. After that, I found some gauze in the medicine cabinet of his bathroom, and returned to gently wrap it around his neck. The wound I left would be completely healed by the next nightfall, leaving only a faint, pale scar as proof of its existence.

So I stood there, next to his bed, for hours. I watched him sleep, watched the slow rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. Breathing... I had long since forgotten how. For a few moments, I let myself try to remember, to fall back to the hazy memories of exactly two hundred years ago, at the start of the After Colony era, when I was still human. When I was mortal. I had always taken for granted, the constant air entering and leaving my lungs, never paid attention to the rhythmic beating of my heart. When I had first been changed, the sudden absence was shocking—it made me resent what I had become that much more. I had never wanted to become a vampire. I had grown up hating their kind, wanting to kill every last one of them. But in my twentieth year of life, I had been changed into hat I despised... and it was the life I had been given; I had no choice but to live it to its fullest potential.

A pale, cold ray of sunlight, from the window near the bed, struck me from my muses. I quickly shied away from it, taking several steps out of the way. Sunlight was one of the worst attributes of this world, although it didn't affect us the way most humans thought it did. Most of us, especially the younger vampires, called fledglings, had a very low tolerance for bright light. It hurt our eyes. Sunlight, however, literally weakened us. The stronger the vampire, the greater an effect the sun had; although because we were stronger, we could tolerate it much longer. After about an hour of direct sunlight, though, we'd only be at about three fourths of our usual strength. Any amount of time in the sun was usually followed by an hour or two drinking blood to replenish the lost energy. By all means though, sunlight was far from lethal; the worst that could happen was ending up as if you'd fasted for several months on end.

With a frown, I took a few steps back into the sunlight. I had to check on the man one last time before I left. He seemed just fine—he'd surely wake up in a few hours. And so, with only a whim to set myself into motion, I was gone from his bedroom. In a fraction of a second, I was back in my own home. I spent most of my time here, the majority of which was during the day when I slept. I lived in what could be categorized as a small mansion. There were several bedrooms, a grand library and study, a giant dining room, to name a few. But I lived alone here. The owner before me, an elderly vampire who lost his life to one of Aoiro's line (which I was a part of), had left this place abandoned and I claimed it for myself. I retreated up the long, winding staircase, down the hall, to the room with the great double doors. My bedroom.

I entered the room and shrugged out of my long coat, draping it over the chair by the door. Thick curtains blocked the light from every window, casting a dim shadow upon the room. I lit a single candle, setting it on my nightstand. I wasn't tired, but I changed into softer clothes and eased into my soft bed. I only took up a small edge of the large king size bed, completely with dark oak posts and a canopy on top. I leaned back on my pillow, reaching blindly for the book on my nightstand. It was a current novel. Fiction. A story about 'mythical' vampires and their trespasses into the human world. I enjoyed these kind of books, simply to marvel at either how wrong, or how close to the truth these human writers really were. I turned to the page I had left off, yesterday, and began to read. But I found that I was unable to focus.

That man that I had left alive... I just could not get him out of my head. The images of his fear when he first saw me, of his resignation to death as he collapsed in my arms, of him sleeping peacefully in his bed as the first rays of sunlight forced me to leave... they would not leave my minds eye. There was something more to him. Something I had never felt towards a human, towards anyone, before. This was definitely deeper than a brief predator-prey experience. His blood had been the sweetest, his body the most beautiful... I couldn't wait to hear his voice—actual spoken words, rather than strangled whimpers. I couldn't wait to see him again, to hold him against me, to feel his much too gentle hands trying to push me away. Was I falling in love with this stranger? This _human_?

I put my book down, staring up at the dark canopy of the bed. In the very least, I would have to blood bond him to me. That way, he would live until I died. He would be linked to me, share a telepathic link. If I was to do that, then change him later on, the link would remain, until one of us died, or bonded to another. If I bonded him to me, I would have an endless supply of his blood... no one else would be permitted to even have a taste. He would be mine. He would belong to me.

With a heavy sigh, I slung my arm over my eyes. I would go to see him as soon as night fell, later today. If he wasn't there, I would wait. We would talk; I would tell him who I was, what I was, what I wanted with him. He would be scared, probably threaten me, but I would grab him and hold him so close... I wouldn't bond him to me, not yet. It was too soon. I would wait until for initial fear to subside.

I blinked, still not tired, but having nothing better to do to pass the time. I rolled over, placing my book on the nightstand. I gathered a puff of air into my mouth and blew out the candle—a skill I had acquired after losing my ability to breathe. I lay back down in the bed and closed my eyes, willing the deathlike, vampiric sleep to take its hold. I did not dream...

. . .

The setting sun woke me, in the same sense that dawn woke a human, and I sat up in the bed. I felt the same as I had earlier—not groggy or sleepy or rested, like a human would after sleeping—I was just hungry. I needed blood. I hadn't taken very much from that man last night, even though any more surely would've been too much for him. I was used to draining a human much larger than him, completely dry. So I stood up, went and showered and dressed and everything, before stepping out into the cool night air. Only it wasn't in front of my house—I had brought myself to the alley by a bar near that man's apartment. I made my way out to the front, entered the bar, and stood in a dim corner until I spotted someone worthy of my bite.

I took a few steps forward, out into the bustle of the busy, happy hour crowd. I discretely drew my silver knife, an intricate blade that had been crafted back in the days of Magic, as a means to kill vampires such as myself. I purposefully bumped into the man who I had selected—a young, despondent looking fellow, who was surely about to drink more alcohol than he should—and gently pressed the end of the sharp blade into his side. He tensed, and I hissed in passing, "Walk. Out the side door. Into the alley." My voice was cold, haunting. He shivered, as if he could feel my fangs nearly brushing against his ear. He did as I had instructed, and I discreetly followed him out into the dim alleyway. As soon as the heavy side door closed behind me, I had him pressed up against the wall, my knife at his throat.

"Y-You can have my money," he stammered, looking up and away. He was obviously terrified. "J-just please... I-if y-you're going to kill me, m-make it quick," his tone was pleading, almost as if he was welcoming the end. Good. Sometimes it was harder to kill those who pleaded for me to let them live, those who I knew would be a tragic loss. I was somewhat sympathetic when it came to petty humans.

"I don't need your stinking money," I growled, baring my razor sharp fangs. I'm sure he though I was some sort of demon... and he wasn't far from the truth. Before he could even make a noise of panic, I holstered my knife and pressed my hand over his mouth, using it to prevent any agonized cries, as well as tip his head to the side, exposing his throat. I pressed my body harder against him as I sank my fangs into his flesh, the familiar taste of normal human blood filing my mouth. He didn't fight back, just shuddered against me and slowly gave in. He was probably one of those humans who enjoyed getting their blood sucked out of them—the problem with that was: most of them didn't know that vampires existed, so they just cut themselves to see the crimson fluid run. Many of us thought that was a horrible waste of what some might deem to be such a sweet liquid—while others would rather settle for the adrenaline rich blood of those who were terrified of what they were about to face.

The entire time, as my victim grew weaker and weaker, I wondered what it would be like if the man from last night was one of the few who enjoyed being fed on. Would he let me sink my teeth into him willingly? Or would he fight me? It didn't matter to me whether the blood was full of fear or not, although it sometimes made it sweeter. Last night, he had been terrified—his blood had been thick with adrenaline and panic. Maybe I would taste a difference if he let me bite him willingly. I tried to remember what he tasted like as the man before me now went limp, losing consciousness as I continued to drain him. I couldn't really remember, especially not with the all too familiar liquid running past my lips. All I could bring to mind was that it was like nothing I had ever tasted, that it was the sweetest, richest blood I had ever taken. I couldn't wait to savor it again.

It wasn't long until the blood ran out and my victim was dead. I pulled away and let him slump to the ground. His skin was ashen, completely lifeless. I licked my lips, then wiped my mouth on my sleeve for good measure. I just stared down at the corpse for a moment, knowing somebody would find him soon. They would call the police. There would be an investigation, but they wouldn't find anything. The two little holes in his throat would stump them—this must be a trick, they would say, vampires don't exist! They would tell his family—the funeral would carry on and he would be forgotten. That's how it always went. As long as you didn't get caught while feeding, there was nothing left for a vampire to do, other than leave and forget. It was only predator and prey, after all.

With a sigh, I began walking, deeper into the ally. On the tenth step, I found myself back in the bedroom of the young man's apartment. The light in the room was off, but I could hear the quiet chatter of a TV in the next room. I glanced at the clock by his bed—he had probably eaten dinner not long ago; he was probably relaxing on the couch, too weak from last night to do much else. One of the few vivid memories from my past was what if felt like to lose a substantial amount of blood. You were weak, weary, listless for days; the dizziness lasted for hours. Briefly, I contemplated waiting here until he went to bed, or stepping out there and confronting him now. I decided on the latter.

The doorknob was cool under my fingers. I decided to play with him a little bit. I stepped to the side, so that I was hidden behind the door. Slowly, I eased it open, peering in between the space left by the hinges. I could see the back of his sofa from here; he was lying on it long ways, his head at the end closest to me. Whatever he was watching seemed somewhat interesting, so he probably wasn't asleep. I couldn't help but smirk as I pulled open the door all the way, then slammed shut as hard as I could. He was surely startled. Simply for good measure, and so I could spy on him, I eased it open again. He was sitting up now, looking around in shock. He noticed the open door, his violet eyes wide with fear. Slowly, he rose to his feet, quickly but quietly disappearing into the kitchen. He returned with a large knife. He surely thought there was an intruder in his home. He was right... But he couldn't have known that a kitchen knife would do no lasting damage to a vampire like me.

Just as he was about five steps from the door, I slammed it again. I brought myself to stand behind him, looming over him a few inches. He could feel me behind him. Slowly, he turned, backing away as he did so. He held up the knife, fear glittering in his violet eyes. "You here to kill me this time?" he demanded, trying to sound unafraid, despite the expression in his gaze.

"No," I said simply, too lost in the sound of his voice to say anything else. His tone was just as amazing as the blood coursing through his veins... I wanted it more and more with every passing moment.

"Then get the hell out of here! I'm not gonna let you drain me half dead like last night!" the fear in his eyes morphed into anger and he launched himself at me, plunging the knife into my stomach. I staggered back a step, continuing the force and pulling him into me. The knife went in deeper, all the way up to the handle, but I didn't care. I could hardly feel it—there was no silver to do any real damage; the knife was nothing more than harmless, stainless steel. He cried out as I let my mouth go to his throat. I didn't bite down, but I let my fangs brush against the new scar that had been left from last night's encounter. He was trembling—I couldn't discern if it was from fear, anger, or both. He pulled away from me, struggling against my iron grip on his arms. I let him go, and he fell back, landing on his ass on the floor. He put a hand to his neck, over where I had bitten him last night, staring up at me in fear and hate. With a smirk, just to intensify his bewilderment, I pulled the knife from my stomach. Keeping my eyes locked with his, I ran my tongue over the cold metal, tasting my on, vampiric blood on it. The wound in my gut was already halfway healed by now. In a moment, there would be nothing left of its existence, save for a small hole in my shirt.

I crouched down, sliding the knife across the floor, back towards him. "Go on, try again," I smirked, mocking him. He grabbed at it, then scooted back until he was up against the sofa. I took a few steps towards him, reaching out to help him up. "I'm not going to kill you," I said, my tone convincing yet unthreatening. "I would've by now if that was the case."

He looked up, into my eyes. Fear was obvious in his violet gaze. "You snuck into my home, attacked me, and now you want me to trust you? No wa—" he started, but I cut him off.

"Yes."

He stared at me, dumbfounded. So I continued, "Your blood was the sweetest I've ever tasted. I'm not going to kill you, and then only have tasted it once."

He looked almost disgusted, but also understanding, "So you wanna keep me, like a pet, and feed off me whenever you want? What if I run away?"

"You won't. You'll have a life of luxury with me. Everything on the grounds of my mansion will be at your disposal. I will become more than just your owner," I said, the words sounding almost cruel. It wouldn't really be this way, though. He'd fall for me. I'd cherish him.

"Will you make me into one of your kind?" he asked, his fear still imminent. I don't think he liked the idea of becoming a vampire like me. Good. That would make him all that much stronger at first, when I did change him.

"No, not yet. Not until I have to."

"Okay..." He let his gaze fall, I could tell that he was trying to force himself to give in to me. "Will I like... being with you? Will it be worthwhile? Will you swear never to drink so much of my blood that I pass out?" His tone was still extremely wary, and he looked up at me when he spoke his last question. I could tell that that was one of his major fears about being with me.

"Yes... And that was a mistake on my part. I took more blood from you than I should have, last night. I will be more careful next time," I replied, my tone truthful. I was still holding my hand out to him.

"Next time..." he repeated, quietly, sounding reluctant.

"I won't take much more for now. You're still too weak. I just... I want to taste you again," I hated how pleading my last few words had sounded, but it was necessary. He gazed into my cobalt stare, still afraid, still reluctant. "It's okay, I won't hurt you," I promised. He nodded, ever so slightly, fear of death, of upsetting me, driving him to act against his instincts to fight me.

He took my hand.

I pulled him to his feet.

He staggered, falling into me.

I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close. He was still trembling horribly with fear, but that would soon subside. For now, he would grow dependent of me. His fear would develop into a sense of gratitude—he would be thankful that I had spared his life. I would treat him kindly, lovingly, and he would fall for me. He would be mine. "May I have the pleasure of knowing your name?" I asked, whispered, ever so kindly.

"I'm Duo..." he replied, his voice somewhat shaky. He was crying now.

I gently rubbed his back, trying to calm him. "My name is Heero." I pulled away, looking into his downcast eyes. He was afraid, but he had forced himself to become submissive in order to ensure that nothing truly bad happened to him. I didn't necessarily like that, but it had to happen in order for him to willingly go with me. "Go pack your things. We'll leave as soon as you're ready."

"Oh... Okay." He said, quietly, stepping away and walking to the bedroom. It was obvious that he had wanted to say no, to get me out of his life and rid himself of this nagging fear. I followed him into the bedroom. He took his time, gathering his clothes and a few belongings; he regretted leaving here to go with me. It was an obvious fact, but I wasn't giving him a choice. Finally, he was zipping up his large duffel bag. His hands were trembling. I put my hand over his, stilling its tremors. He looked up at me, teary-eyed.

I just kept a firm expression and nodded, as if to say 'this is the right thing to do'.

He didn't say a word, just stared up at me with those big, violet eyes; 'I don't want to do this,' they told me. For a split second I doubted my decision in making go with me. But it was too late now. I wanted his blood, I wanted him.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked, lacing my fingers together with his. He was too scared to pull away.

He nodded, managing a shaky, "Yes."

"Don't worry. It's not going to be as bad as you think. Life will be a lot easier with me," I promised him, something inside me itching to ease his fears.

"Okay..." he murmured. One of his hands clutched the strap of his duffel bag, the other held in mine.

I gave his hand a small squeeze, before letting out a brief sigh. I brought us both to the front room of my mansion.

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**you like? hehe. next chapter tomorrow! **

**i'm kinda makin duo really submissive in this fic, but only for part of it. and its obvious as to why. and i tried not to make heero TOO mean. i'm really having fun with it though, so i hope you guys like it :D**

**so, until tomorrow! bye guys!  
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	2. Blood Bond

**so i nearly forgot to update... :/ i was too busy getting everything situated on my new computer XD this machine is so nice compared to my old one. i loves it lots X3 well, thanks so much for all the reviews on the first chapter! makes me feel loved :D **

**and now, duo finally gets an idea of what he's been thrown into, although this isn't nearly as bad as it's gonna get... hehe spoilers! **

**well, enjoy the next chapter! and again, merry christmas! XD  
**

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Bloodstained Devotion

Chapter 2

Blood Bond

Duo looked around our new surroundings in shock. It was a wonder to him, how we had gotten here. "Vampire's can teleport?" he asked, his fear still eminent in his voice as he took in the front room of my mansion. He glanced back at me, warily, still scared, but obviously trying to be strong. Large paintings decorated the walls, stretching all the way up to the ceilings, which reached to the second floor. The paintings depicted scenes of ancient vampires. Scenes of battles, scenes of humans submitting to their vampiric masters. I had never really spent the time to look at them, though I believed Aoiro himself—the founder of my line, and the one who changed me all those years ago—was in one of those depictions. Duo gazed up at the grand staircase, to the balcony of the second story.

"Yes, we can," I replied, still holding his hand in mine. Duo was still fearful, still seeming to regret his choice. I did my best to try to comfort him—I almost felt bad for making him so scared. But it couldn't be helped... He'd just have to learn to like it here, to tolerate what he had been thrown into. Because I wasn't going to let him go. "Though how strong we are depends on how far and how many people we can take with us."

He turned to look at me, his violet eyes warily examining my cold, cobalt gaze, "You're really strong, aren't you?" He sounded as if he thought I might attack him if his suspicions were really true.

I nodded, "Second in my line, only to the one who changed me..." I scanned the paintings on the walls, finding the familiar figure of my creator. I pointed, "That's him there, the one with the bright blue eyes, like mine… though our eyes are merely a coincidence." Duo tore his eyes from mine, turning to gaze at the painting. "His name is Aoiro. I haven't seen him in at least one hundred and eighty years, when I was still a fledgling and he was to be the leader of the Vampire Court. Even then, I was nearly as strong as him."

Duo made a small noise of fearful awe, no doubt terrified by the idea that I was as strong as I was. It was probably best to show him to his room now, to let him get some rest and be alone for a while. Still holding his hand, I took a few steps forward, urging him to follow. We made our way up the grand staircase, across the balcony and down the long hall. His bedroom would be the one right next to mine—I believed it to be the nicest. "This room is completely yours. I recommend that you try to get some sleep—it'll help calm your nerves. I'll return tomorrow morning to show you around and make clear your boundaries and the few rules I ask for you to follow. Sleep well, my dear Duo." Still with his hand in mine, I held it up to my lips, placing a gentle kiss on the soft flesh. I could feel that he struggled to refrain from pulling away.

With that, I let him go. Duo stepped past me into the room, and closed the door. I turned to a hidden compartment in the wall, pressing the panel in and sliding it to the side, revealing a key for each room aside from my own—I kept that particular key with me at all times. I took out Duo's, closed the panel, and quietly locked his door. I slipped the large, old fashioned key into my pocket, before focusing my attention on trying to listen to Duo inside the room. I could hear him crying... Something deep inside me ached.

I sighed, quietly, before retreating back to my own room. I had already fed, and it would probably be best if I stayed here with Duo. Part of me didn't like that I had locked him in his room, but it was for the best. I couldn't have him slip out and escape, now could I? I trusted that he wouldn't escape through the window and disappear, however—this mansion was far from any civilization, set in a large clearing, buried deep in a densely wooded area. Duo was smart enough to know that staying here was his only choice.

With that thought in mind, I picked up my book and sat down to read.

. . .

Gentle rays of sunlight managed to poke their way under the curtains of my bedroom windows. I sat up, finding that I had fallen asleep for a little while, simply out of boredom. I rose to my feet, stretching. I pulled the key from my pocket, staring at it as I turned it over in my hands. I contemplated going to rouse him right now, but I thought better. I wanted to make him feel as comfortable here as he was in his own home. I decided to go make breakfast for him, to show him that I was trying to be kind. I hadn't eaten human food in two hundred years, but I still knew a thing or two about cooking. One of my 'guests' a few years ago had showed me how. With that, I stepped out of my room and unlocked Duo's door, that way he could open it when I brought him breakfast. I then headed down to the large, modern kitchen. I always kept it well stocked, in case I brought home any humans. The woman who came here once a week to do the cleaning—her name was Relena—took care of making sure there was always fresh food. She was aloud to take home what she wanted.

I took my time in preparing breakfast for Duo. I brewed a small pot of coffee, toasted two slices of bread, sliced up an orange, and poured a bowl of cereal. I placed it all on a tray, careful not to spill anything as I took it upstairs. I felt almost silly; a vampire making breakfast for a human. But it was an act of kindness that needed to be done. I had to show him that he was safe here, that he was going to be cared for and loved. When I got to his door, I felt almost like a human child, realizing that both my hands were occupied with the tray, and I was unable to knock on the door.

"Duo?" I asked, hoping he heard me inside. "Duo are you awake?"

The door opened not a moment later, and he looked as if he had bolted out of bed, terrified. I instantly felt bad for waking him. "Heero...?" he asked, shocked. He stared up at me, his eyes distrustful.

"I made breakfast for you," forcing a small smile.

When Duo realized what was on the tray, he stared at it, dumbfounded. When his eyes met mine again, he looked as if he was going to ask why I had done so, but he decided against it. Instead, he took the tray into his own hands and muttered a quiet, astonished, "Thank you..."

"You're welcome, Duo. I want you to be happy here..." _I want you to love me._ Duo turned away, taking the tray into his room. He set it on the table by the window—the curtains were pulled open—then returned to the doorway.

"You... you can come in, if you want to..." he said, though his tone sounded as if he didn't exactly want me to.

I took a moment to reply, "Only for a few minutes... is that okay? I'd just like to talk with you about a few things, then I'll go, okay?" He seemed alright with that, so I followed him into the room. I left the door open.

I blinked, squinting shut my eyes a little and staying near the doorway. Bright sunlight was coming in from the window—it made my eyes sting and begin to water. Duo noticed immediately, quickly pulling shut the curtains. "I-I'm sorry," he stammered, his tone sounding as if he thought I would reprimand him for such a thing. I wouldn't dream of it.

"It's alright. No harm done," I assured him. My vision was still a little blurred, but it would wear off. I never was too fond of sunlight during my time as a vampire. It had been used against me as punishment, as a means of torture once before, many years ago—I had nearly completely lost my tolerance for it since then.

"Okay..." with that, he sat down at the small table, and began to eat. He was obviously hungry.

I sat down beside him, "Did you sleep well? I'm sorry if I woke you." I glanced over at the bed—the covers were disheveled, half on the floor.

"It's fine. I wasn't sleeping," an obvious lie, but I didn't call him on it. I didn't make a fuss when he didn't answer if he had slept well or not, either. His silence probably meant that he hadn't, but that was to be expected for his first few nights. He was scared, alone in a huge mansion with some bloodthirsty vampire. He was right in not trusting me, but I still wanted to change that.

"That's good, then," I said, placing my elbows on the table, steepling my fingers, and resting my chin on them. I closed my eyes, hoping that helped him feel a bit more relaxed in my presence, as well as to ease the uncomfortable sting left by the sunlight. "Take a shower and get dressed after you eat, alright? Meet me down in the front room when you're ready. I want to show you around." With that, I stood, leaving the room. I didn't want to overstay my welcome, didn't want to push his tolerance too far. This room was supposed to be his haven, not his prison cell.

So I sat down on one of the several large chairs and sofas in the front room, and just stared up at the paintings. I tried to discern the story behind the one with Aoiro in it. This painting was one of the few that depicted a battle. It showed Aoiro and several other vampires, one of which I recognized to be the current leader of the Vampire Court: Treize Khushrenada of the Zodiac line. Aoiro had been next in line for control, had been the one credited with winning the final battle of the Blood Wars, but Treize had taken over. For all I knew, Aoiro could be dead. I didn't see how it was possible, but it was probably true. That could very well mean that—

"Um... Heero?" I forced myself not to startle, turning to see Duo standing a few paces away from me. He looked like he had been too scared to rouse me from my muses, as if I would attack him on the spot if he did so. He had probably been standing there for a few minutes, debating...

I rose to my feet, walking over to him. Duo was tense as I put my hand on his shoulder. He shuddered slightly when I let my fingers brush over the smooth skin of his throat. I turned him so that we were facing the staircase and balcony. I pointed, "The door on the far right, up on the balcony, is the library. That is open to you whenever you like, as is the room to the left of it. I believe there is a TV and an old videogame or two in there." I turned back to face him, but he kept his gaze averted, still looking up at the balcony. "The other rooms in the hallway by your bedroom are open, although I'm not sure if you'd have any use for them. The only rooms I ask for you to stay out of, are the door on the far left of the balcony, which will be locked at all times anyway, and my bedroom. Is that negotiable?"

"Yeah," he said quickly, nodding. Duo turned back to face me. I could almost see a glitter of fearful respect forming in his eyes. He was already beginning to trust me, beginning to submit to me.

With that, I led Duo out of the front room, to the kitchen. "Feel free to come down here whenever you're hungry. There's always plenty of fresh food. A human woman comes here once a week to do the cleaning, and she takes home what she wants, as well as goes out to buy fresh. If there's anything you want that isn't here, just leave her a note."

Duo nodded, and so we continued on. I just pointed out the large dining room, then showed him where the back door to get out onto the grounds was. I stayed in the shadows as he pulled aside the curtain and peered outside—bright sunlight streamed in, making his perfect skin seem even paler than it already was. "You may go out here whenever you like as well, just don't stray into the woods. It's easy to get lost, and I can't guarantee your safety if you do... Everything here is at your disposal. This is your home now too, so feel free to do as you like. Just try to be back inside by sunset, alright?"

"Okay..."

I turned away then, walking back in the direction of the front room. I needed to sleep for a while—the sun was already well risen in the sky, and I didn't want to spend more time awake during the day than I had to. "I'm going to sleep for a while. I'll be back by sunset," I said over my shoulder.

"Okay... sleep good," Duo replied from behind me, still standing by the door. It was obvious by his tone that he was trying to act more trusting that he truly was. I stopped when I was just around the corner, out of his sight, and listened. As soon as he thought I was really gone, he let out a whimpered sigh. I heard the sound of him sinking to his knees on the tile, heard him gasp for breath, as if he was struggling not to cry. I felt bad. I didn't want to trap him here. But his fear wouldn't last forever. I knew for a fact that, once I blood bonded him to me, he would trust me a lot more. It would substantially help ease his fears.

I shook my head, silently turning and returning to my room. There wasn't much I could do now, except for leave him alone...

. . .

I awoke about an hour before sunset, a bad feeling spinning around in my chest. I sat up, my mind instantly wondering where Duo was right now. I had forgotten to tell him something very important... Tonight was a half moon, and even if Duo was on the mansion's grounds, he wouldn't be safe for even a moment. Several rogue vampires prowled the forest at night, but they seemed to congregate into a pack on the night of the half moon, and Duo would be completely vulnerable out there. They would feed on anything they found, be it human, animal, or even another vampire... nothing was safe from their blood lusting bite. I had to find Duo, wherever he was, and bring him inside. I got up and went to knock on his bedroom door, but there was no answer. I went out to the library, called his name, to the TV room—nothing. I needed to find him.

Grimacing, I made my way out onto the grounds. The setting sun was too bright for me, even though it was already half below the horizon, but I had no choice. As soon as the large clearing was thrown completely into shadow, they would emerge. Normally, I would be able to fight them all off, but not with Duo out here as well. I didn't trust myself to protect him against a pack of bloodthirsty vampires. I could feel the sunlight weakening me as I made my way farther from the dim confines of my mansion. "Duo!" I called, looking around for him. I didn't see him anywhere. Part of me began to fear for the worst.

I pushed myself forward a few steps, retreating to the shade of a large tree in the center of the garden. I walked around the trunk of it, out of the sunlight and into the shadows. However, I noticed a book on the ground, half resting on the tree's roots. It looked as if it had fallen and landed here. I looked up, smirking when I saw Duo, stretched out on a high branch. He was asleep. But then I frowned—he had probably figured this was a safe hiding place, where he could doze without me nearby. I wanted to allow him to stay there, to keep that hiding place, but he wouldn't be safe out here once night fell.

"Duo!" I called to him, ready to catch him if he startled and fell.

I watched from below as he opened his eyes, remembering where he was. It took him a moment to realize what had woken him, to notice me. "Heero? What're you—? ...Isn't the sun—?" he stammered, leaning to the side a bit to stare down at me. He was afraid. It was clear that he didn't want to come down.

"Come down from there, Duo. It's almost night. It won't be safe out here," I said firmly, outstretching my hand towards him, as if he could reach it all the way up there.

"Why?" he asked. It was clear in his eyes—Duo felt a little braver now. He thought that, because he was up in the tree and the sun was still out, I couldn't reach him. He felt as if he had leverage. It was true that I felt substantially weaker out in the open, but I could get to him if I needed to. Scaling a tree and dragging him back to the ground wouldn't be any trouble for me.

I had to make known my authority over him now, had to remind him that he was still a weak human, and I was a two hundred year old vampire. The difference in strength was obvious. "Come down here. Now," I ordered, internally wincing at how harsh my tone was—I might as well have just hissed and bared my fangs at him. "I'll lock you in your room again, for a week this time, if you don't obey me."

That did it. Duo blinked, his eyebrows rising and violet eyes glittering in fear. He knew his place, that was undeniable, and I couldn't give him any leeway until he knew to never say no to me. And aside from that, this was for his own good. I'm sure he didn't want to get attacked by a pack of rabid vampires—having just one hanging around him was more than enough. Without a word, Duo climbed down from the tree. He landed on his feet in front of me, and I bent to pick up his fallen book. I brushed it off, then handed it back to him. "Come on, we need to get back inside." I turned, starting to make my way towards the mansion. I heard him walking a few paces behind me.

On the way back, I explained to him why he couldn't be out here tonight. I briefly apologized for not telling him sooner—but not for reminding him of his place. When we got back inside, I closed and locked the door, drawing the curtain over it and blocking out the last rays of light. "Come with me," I said, grabbing Duo's hand. I led him up the stairs, down the hall, and then into my bedroom. He seemed hesitant about going in here, since I had told him not to, but that rule didn't apply when I brought him in here myself. I sat him down on my bed. "Wait here, I'll be back," I told him, pulling on my coat. I had to go feed—I felt almost drugged from being out in the sun, and I needed to be at full strength for what I was about to do to Duo.

With that, I brought myself to the city closest to my mansion. I found a victim, fed and killed. It wasn't long until I returned, feeling myself again. Duo was exactly where I had left him, no doubt too scared now to disobey me. I shrugged out of my coat, then went to stand in front of him. I placed my hand on his cheek, and he gazed up at me, fearful and pleading. He knew I had a reason for bringing him here, to my room. He was afraid. I pulled him up to his feet, holding him to me. He was tense, but not trembling.

"Don't worry," I whispered in his ear. "This is going to make you feel more at ease." I wrapped one arm around his waist, holding him tight against me. I was going to blood bond him to me now, and I didn't want him struggling. With my other hand, I made sure my knife was still in the holster at my belt. It was, so I used that hand to tilt Duo's head to the side, once again exposing the pale flesh of his neck. There was a tiny, pale scar from when I had found him...

"N-no..." Duo stammered, trying to pull away from me. "Please... I'm not ready for this."

But I ignored his pleas, holding him still. "Trust me," I breathed, before sinking my fangs into his throat. Duo went very still, letting out a clearly stifled cry of pain—he didn't struggle, probably too afraid of angering me or worsening the pain.

The taste of Duo's blood overwhelmed me, as if it was the first time I had ever tasted it. It was sweet; so hot as it flowed past my lips. I only took a little, though, being extremely careful to do nothing more than bond him to me. It was too soon to change him; I'd never be able to taste his blood again if I did that. When I pulled away, Duo fell into me. He wasn't unconscious, but he was probably already dizzy. I lapped up the blood that seeped from the two identical holes. Briefly I wondered: what would it be like to kiss him? I held him back a little, so that I could lean in and kiss him on the lips. Duo was instantly startled, tasting his own blood in my mouth. He tried to pull away, but I held him to me. He didn't return it, but I avidly kissed him. His lips were hot against my own. Duo's mouth was just as sweet as his blood...

When I finally let go, Duo staggered back and fell onto my bed. He put a hand to his neck, wincing at the soon to be familiar sting. I took a step towards him, drawing my silver knife. He panicked. "W-What are you doing? I thought you said you wouldn't hurt me!" he sobbed, thinking he was facing my 'cruel side' now. He must've thought he had upset me by hiding from me. He must've thought that this was his punishment.

"I am blood bonding us together. This will make you immortal. This will make you mine," I said, bluntly. I raised the knife and he flinched, but the blade wasn't meant for him. With a grimace, I sliced open my wrist. My vampiric blood instantly began to flow, the magic in the silver knife postponing the healing process. I dropped the blade to the floor, stepping over it and grabbing Duo. He tried to scoot away, but I pulled him to his feet and held him to me. "Drink," I ordered, holding my bleeding wrist to his mouth.

His eyes met with mine for a moment, fearful, before he began to drink the blood from my wound. I winced, remembering vividly, from when I was still human, the feeling of having blood drawn. I could also remember what vampire's blood had tasted like. It was bitter, compared to a human's. It held a sort of palpable magic in its deep burgundy color, a taste that most humans couldn't identify. I pulled away after a few moments, only allowing Duo to drink about as much as I had just taken from him.

Duo stared at me for a moment, his violet eyes clouded as the dark magic took its hold. I wiped his mouth with my sleeve, watching his skin grow deathly pallid. "Heero..." he murmured, his eyes sliding closed as he fell into me. I smiled. Duo was mine now.

With a grunt, I hefted him up into my arms. Again, I felt weak, having lost blood to him. The wound in my wrist was still open and bleeding—I'd have to bandage it until the silver's effect wore off in a few hours, and it healed. I brought him out to his bedroom, lying him down in the bed. He was completely still, like a corpse; the color would return to his skin soon, once the bond had completely formed. Duo would wake at the next sunset, tomorrow night. He and I would have a telepathic link then. He would trust me.

Duo belonged to me now.

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**well, to say the least, possessive heero is possessive XD**

**i hope you guys liked this chapter lots. it was fun to write heero blood bonding duo :D **

**you guys are really gonna enjoy tomorrow's chapter, so hopefully i'll upload it early XD neways, ch4 is going well, so i should have that done tonight. bye!  
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	3. Trust Taking Hold

**here you go, guys! this one is really good, so i hope you all enjoy it! **

**and uhm, chapter four is almost done, so i'll be able to post it tomorrow. idk when i'll have ch 5 up tho, but it wont be too long a wait. heh XD  
**

* * *

Bloodstained Devotion

Chapter 3

Trust Taking Hold

I could feel it when Duo awoke. He wondered where he was, what the half-dead feeling in his chest was. It took him a moment to notice my presence in his mind.

Duo said and thought my name, his tone fearful and distressed, even as it resounded in my mind. But it wasn't the same distrusting fear as earlier. It was more concern for what had happened to him, about the sudden telepathy between us. He could feel it too.

"_How do you feel?"_ I thought to him.

"_Different... what did you—what happened to me?"_ I smirked when he caught himself, not wanting to blame me for this. Already, he trusted me so much more. Duo was part of me now; my blood was coursing through his veins.

"_I blood bonded you to me. It's the step between human and vampire. You are nearly immortal now. You will not die of any natural causes, nor will you fall ill ever again. You will only die if you are killed, or if I die," _I explained, rising from where I had been lying on my bed. I was slightly dazed, having refrained from leaving Duo alone to go feed. I had spent most of the time that he as unconscious by his bedside, only leaving when I knew he would soon wake.

"_Oh..."_ was all he thought in reply.

"_It'll also take some practice on your part, but this telepathy is voluntary. You can tune me out at will, or visa versa. You'll only be able to hear my thoughts if you want to, and your thoughts have to be directed at me for me to be able to hear them. You can block me out completely if you get good enough at it."_ I stood up from the bed, pulling back my sleeve to gaze at the fresh scar on my wrist, left by the silver knife. Only wounds from silver could scar a vampire, could do real damage that took time to heal. A cut from a vampire's fangs or claws would certainly hurt, but it healed quickly—there was no magic to hinder it from healing.

I walked out into the hall, knocking on Duo's door.

"Come in," he said, rather than thought. He obviously wasn't yet used to speaking into my mind. I opened the door, taking only two steps into the room. Even if Duo seemed to trust me more, now that we were bonded, I didn't want to push him too far. He was only human, after all.

Duo was lying in his bed, clutching the blankets to himself and looking for all the world like he was hurt and couldn't bring himself to rise. He was obviously disoriented—he had done a good job hiding all that from his thoughts though. Duo tried to push himself up when I entered the room, no doubt feeling as if he had to have perfect manners when I was around. I wasn't that strict. "It's okay," I said, taking another few steps closer to his bed. "You should just rest for awhile. You'll feel better soon."

"I don't feel that bad," Duo insisted, managing to sit up. "It just hurts... but I'll be okay." Duo winced, and I knew he was lying. He was trying to hide his pain, but I knew he was aching horribly. I knew how it felt to be blood bonded—it was not something I had ever experienced, but it had been described to me before. His blood was burning, the vampiric magic attacking his human life's blood. In about two days, the pain would have subsided completely, and he'd feel okay again. I felt rather sympathetic for him now, though. My poor Duo... If anything, I was relieved that he wasn't so afraid anymore. The pain he was in right now surely had a lot to do with that, since he had to rely on me—he would have to trust me to protect, and to not take advantage of, him while he was in this vulnerable state.

Keeping my gaze locked with his, I took a few more steps until I was at his bedside. I reached out to him, but Duo instinctively shied away from me, closing his eyes and turning away. He was still afraid. Duo felt vulnerable right now, and the last things he remembered before losing consciousness were frightening events: me biting him, drawing a knife, and forcing him to drink my blood. He may try to be brave, he may know that he has to trust me now, but that couldn't put a stop to his inner turmoil. His instincts were probably screaming that something was wrong, but his better judgment forced him to remain here. Duo was too afraid, as well as too trusting, to disobey me.

Duo was very still as I gently placed my hand on this side of his neck, over where I had bitten him twice before. I stroked his jaw line with my thumb, and after a moment he opened his eyes and gazed up at me. He must've thought I was going to hurt him. Duo wasn't so afraid anymore; he was even leaning slightly into my touch. He kept his eyes on me, however, watching my every move. His trust only extended so far. Without a word, I got down on my knees by the bed. I placed my other hand on his cheek as well, pulling him towards me slightly. I pressed my lips to his. Duo didn't draw back, but he also didn't return the gesture. For the first few moments, at least. I forced myself not to smile into it as Duo began to kiss me back. His lips were so soft, so warm; his mouth was just as sweet as his blood. I never wanted this moment to end. I pushed my tongue into Duo's mouth, careful not to bite at his lips because of my fangs. I did not want to draw blood.

If I was to feed off Duo's blood now, it would be far from what it was last time. Right now, the crimson in his veins was a mix of human and vampire blood. To drink that would be the same as if I mixed his and my blood together in a glass, and then tried to drink it. The taste of my own blood would overwhelm his, and it would sicken me—I had never been one to enjoy the taste of vampire blood, let alone my own. Only certain vampires could stomach the crimson life of their own kind, but drinking one's own blood was simply... disgusting. I didn't see how it could be done willingly, as a way to feed. In a few days—it took a total of three days, since the bond was first formed, for it to completely take its hold—once Duo was feeling better again, his blood would be human once more. There would be a small hint of magic still in his veins, but not enough to taste—it would only allow other vampires to sense that I had been bonded him to me.

After a long several moments, I pulled away. Duo fell back, gasping for breath. His chest heaved and he put his hand over it; his eyes squinted shut in pain. I put my hand on his, my rough palm much larger than his gentler hands. This was not the kind of pain that human medicines could ease, nor were there any vampiric remedies to help relieve him of the hurt. All Duo could do was endure—as long as he remained still, it wouldn't be too bad. I rose to my feet, gently helping Duo to get comfortable where he lay. He stared up at me, an uneven mixture of fear, submission, and trust glittering in his pained violet eyes. I placed a brief kiss on his lips, before kneeling down beside him again. Duo turned his head, gazing at me. My eyes were half lidded and dull as I returned his stare—I hadn't fed in a good twenty four hours, and I had lost a lot of blood in bonding Duo to me; the cut in my wrist had been stubborn in continuously bleeding.

It was dark in the room, save for the several candles I had lit before Duo awoke. A still silence seemed to descend upon us as Duo and I just continued to stare into each other's eyes. I was still weak, however, and vampiric sleep took its hold as I knelt next to Duo. I'd have to leave his side to go feed as soon as I woke—I would grow too weak to protect him if I waited until tomorrow night to feed. If I waited, and we got attacked in between now and then, I wouldn't be strong enough to fight and keep Duo safe. The chances of that, though, were very slim. I didn't have strong enough enemies right now to worry about getting ambushed.

When I awoke, Duo was sleeping peacefully, quietly. It was still pitch dark behind the curtains, so I knew I still had time. I had to be quick though. I didn't want to leave Duo alone here. I didn't want to ever leave his side. Rising to my feet, I brought myself back to the same, nearby city as a few nights ago. I couldn't teleport far in my current state. It wasn't exactly that I was weak like this, but more that I had a lack of mental and physical coherence. I felt hazy, as if I was dying. It would take much more time for a vampire of my caliber to die from fasting, but the initial drop in mental capability was very steep.

I played up the act, as I sometimes did when I needed a quick meal, pretending to be a weary young man, stumbling along as if I were drunk. In the dim atmosphere of the city's nightlife, I bumped into a big, burly figure, and pressed the tip of my knife into his stomach. Lost to the oblivious bustle of the crowd, I pushed the man into a narrow alley and quickly knocked his head back against the brick wall. He looked like the type to struggle, and I didn't need that right now. Sheathing my knife, I lowered him slightly to grant me access to his throat. I was still unsatisfied as the corpse fell to the ground, so I teleported elsewhere in the city and found another victim. I was more than full by the time I returned back to my mansion, to Duo's side.

My Duo was still sleeping soundly when I knelt down beside him again. I wanted to rouse him, to see his glittering eyes and hear his intoxicating voice, but I wouldn't. The more rest he got, the sooner he would return to himself. I was anxious to hold Duo to me again. Not necessarily for his blood, but definitely because I enjoyed having him so close. I think, through all the fear, he liked it too...

. . .

When Duo awoke, it was well after sunrise. I didn't know exactly when he came back to consciousness, because I had let myself slip back into darkness as daylight's world began again. He was watching me—somewhat wary, somewhat relaxed—as I opened my eyes and pushed myself upright. I rose to my feet—Duo was probably hungry and thirsty by now, despite the pain. "I'll be right back," I announced, before turning and leaving the room. Duo's amethyst gaze had been slightly clearer. I contemplated his current state as I made my way downstairs to the kitchen.

I returned with a glass of water and mug of some sort of broth—had found a can of it in the cupboard, and heated it up in a pot on the stove. I helped Duo pull himself up, sitting beside him on the bed. I kept my hand on his as he took the warm mug into his slightly trembling hands, making sure he didn't spill it as he eagerly drank the hot liquid. If Duo was still thinking in the sense that I was his captor, and he was my hostage, he would surely deem this act of kindness as part of my 'good side'; I was caring for him now, and that would build trust. He would feel dependent towards me, since I had not only spared his life, but also nurtured him back to health after his 'punishment'. I didn't necessarily like this method of getting him to trust me, to fall for me, but it seemed to be the only way. And if it wasn't, it was far too late to change my tactics now.

"Thank you..." Duo murmured as I helped him lie back down. The corners of his mouth twitched up into a grateful smile.

Returning the small grin, I placed my hand on the top of his head, brushing his unruly bangs out of his eyes with my thumb. As far as I could tell, Duo nearly completely trusted my 'good side' now. This was the first time he had thanked me, and really meant it; it was the first time he had ever smiled at me before. "You're welcome, my dear Duo." I leaned in, kissing his forehead before sitting on the bed beside him. I moved my hand to hold his as it rested on his chest; I squeezed his hand gently. We just remained together in silence for a while. Eventually, Duo felt comfortable enough to close his eyes in my presence. He knew I wouldn't hurt him as I sat here beside him. It wasn't long until his breathing evened out, slowed, and he was asleep. I sat with him for another half hour or so, before rising to my feet. I had been so busy caring for Duo these past several days, that I hadn't even gotten a chance to work on the important data I had been trying to acquire. I frowned as I walked away from Duo's bedside—I didn't want to leave him, but I had other things to attend to.

So I stepped out into the hall, gently closing Duo's door behind me. It was midday now, and I would normally be sound asleep. But right now, my time schedule was so out of whack; I didn't even have the slightest desire to close my eyes now. I made my way out onto the balcony of the second story, pulling a key from my pocket and unlocking the door on the far left. This was the room that, by all means, Duo was never allowed to enter. It was my study. Unlike the library, this room held books nearly overflowing with knowledge of the vampiric world. None of them were fiction.

I had a large desk set up in the middle of the room, and each of the four walls was a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf. There were many open books strewn over my desk, some upside down, some open to the beginning, others open to the end. But all of them had pages upon pages marked with sticky notes, sticky notes with arrows, or reminders written in my perfect handwriting. I had left a notepad resting on top of the book I had been pouring through the last time I was here—the notebook was full of bullet points and copies of everything that had been written on those many sticky notes, each perfectly cited for future reference. This was my work—something I had dedicated myself to for the past several years.

One would probably think it was silly, a vampire dedicating all this time to analyzing the text of old, yellowed books, but I had my reasons. I was devoting all this time, cross referencing and reading, to try to find the truth behind one long since occurred event. What I was trying to find held a sort of sentimental value to me, even though it was something that had occurred nearly one hundred and eighty years ago, when I was still a fledgling—Aoiro's last, and only living, second generation fledgling. Sure, there were others of Aoiro's line, but all my elder brothers and sisters were dead. They had fallen to the enemy during the Blood Wars, leaving only the third generation to continue on. I had changed my fair share of unwilling humans in the past, but I had never stayed with them. The young ones didn't understand the pride and strength of the line they hailed from.

Anyways, as I sat back down at the cluttered desk, I let my mind fall back into what I was searching for. How had Treize Khushrenada come into power? Was Aoiro really dead? Everything I had found declared that he was. But then who was the true heir? The answer was obvious:

I was the true leader of the Vampire Court.

But where would I find proof of this? I couldn't just barge in there one day, and attempt to take back the throne, and then find that it wasn't true, that the next of Aoiro's line wasn't to take his place. I knew that, if a vampire challenged the current leader—or leader to be—to a weaponless duel to the death, and won, he would gain the fallen leader's title. But that didn't apply if there was an act of sabotage, if there never was a duel and the current leader died unfairly. I just had to find proof of this, find a record that no, there never was a duel. After that, I just had to find that yes, the next in line to the throne was the leader's next of kin, be it the younger brother of his generation, or—if he had no brothers—then the eldest son of his own fledglings would take the throne. That was all I had left to do.

. . .

Night fell, the sun rose, and night fell again. The sun of the next day had already risen by the time I sat up straight in my chair. I was weary, my eyes growing dazed by the endless lines of text. I had found one of the two things I was looking for—that, given Aoiro's line still rightfully had control, I was the next heir. I was the last of the second generation, I should have Treize's throne. But this was all on one condition—had Treize gained his power fairly in a duel?

It was near noon when I finally stood and stretched. Duo was probably feeling better again by now. It had been more than three days since I had bonded him to me. I needed blood. I needed Duo's blood. Legs protesting after sitting for so long, I made my way back out into the hall, and locked my study's door.

"_Duo,"_ I thought, directing the call into his mind.

"_H-Heero?" _he stammered in reply. My tone had been rather harsh—I was weary, hungry, and frustrated by those books; I wasn't capable of being sweet to him right now, even though I didn't want to be cruel. _"I—"_

Duo was about to think to me again, but I cut him of, _"Where are you?"_ Again, my tone was too harsh. I didn't feel like caring though—Duo had to know that I had the capability to threaten him as well as treat him kindly.

"_I-I'm outside. In the garden... Do you—"_ his tone was submissive—Duo could tell that I was not in the mood for him to act on the trust he had for my 'good side'.

"_Come back inside. Now. Meet me in the front room,"_ I ordered, knowing he was already hurrying back into the mansion. Duo didn't reply.

With a frown on my face, I made my way downstairs into the front room. I sat down heavily in a large, plush chair, waiting for my Duo to return. It wasn't long until I heard the opening and closing of the door to get outside. He appeared from the kitchen area a moment later, holding the book from several days ago and quickly walking towards me. He stood in front of my chair, a fearful glitter in his clear, violet eyes. I rose to my feet, taking a step forward so that his chest was nearly pressed against mine. He gasped, but didn't shy away. Duo knew this was my 'cruel side', and he knew to be afraid of me now.

I put my hand just above his forehead, tilting his head back so I could stare directly into his eyes. Sweat was beading at his brow—he had probably ran here from where he had been outside. With that same hand, I tipped his head to the side, exposing his neck. He shuddered, no doubt silently pleading against what I was about to do. I wrapped my other arm around his waist, pulling him into me and holding him still. He knew better than to struggle. Not even bothering with a warning, or making a point to be gentle, I simply sank my fangs into his smooth flesh. He didn't cry out this time, only whimpering at the initial pain. His hot blood streamed into my mouth and I reveled at the taste—this was exactly what I needed. I knew I would soon find it hard to settle for the crimson life of normal humans, now that I had Duo constantly at my disposal. Right now, I don't think I would be able to honor my promise never to take until he lost consciousness.

I stopped once I knew Duo was at his limit, when I had taken as much as he could handle without dieing from loss of blood. It was hardly enough, but it would have to do. Duo had already passed out in my arms, and I easily could hold him up as I pulled out my fangs. I lapped up the last few drops of crimson, feeling Duo weakly fight for breath. He was going to be upset that I had done this to him, but as long as I showed enough kindness afterwards, his growing trust would remain unharmed. He would delude himself into thinking that he had done something wrong and needed to be put back in his place—because he had been outside when I called him in, he was probably going to start to refrain from going out there on his own; he'd probably ask permission beforehand now.

I felt a lot better now, both in mood and body. I lifted him into my arms, and brought us both to his room. I laid Duo down on the bed, and turned to leave. It was still daylight out, so I had to remain here in my home. I retreated to my room, and lay down on my bed. I fell asleep quickly, eager to pass the time.

. . .

The sky was dark and clear as I stepped outside, into the cool night. Duo was still up in his room, unconscious, and I needed to do a brief patrolling of my mansion's perimeter. I walked around the edge of the clearing, keeping my senses alert to notice any intruders or attackers. Tonight was nearly a quarter moon—it had been exactly a week since I had taken Duo from his old life. It wouldn't be long until he trusted me completely.

My patrol of my land was uneventful, as usual, and I came to a stop at the landmark signaling the direction towards the hidden path to get out. It was a wild rosebush, but one that produced the beautiful thorned flowers with a garnish of black petals, rather than red or white. I found the most perfect blossom, and plucked it from the bush. I brought myself back to my room, finding an old spool of black ribbon in the top drawer of my dresser, and taking a piece. I tied a bow around the rose's stem, fastening to it a small note that read simply "For my dear Duo."

Silently, I entered Duo's room—he was still sound asleep. I gently lifted his listless hand where it rested over his stomach, and placed the rose in his grasp. I had been careful to remove the thorns at where he would hold it; I didn't want Duo to hurt himself when he woke.

There were still quite a few hours until sunrise, so I brought myself to Duo's city. I wasn't here to feed, rather to simply kill time. Maybe I could peruse the shops, get an idea of what kind of formalwear I thought Duo might like, and see what I could buy for him later on.

. . .

It was nearing sunrise when I returned to my mansion. I went straight to my room, falling back into vampiric sleep until the world surrendered to night again.

When I awoke, I found Duo sitting cross-legged on the floor by my bedroom door. He was reading a book—the same one that he had been for the past week. On his lap, sat the black rose. The note that had been attached to it was gone, and when he noticed me and rose to his feet, I saw that the ribbon was tied in a neat bow at the end of his braid. He saw me gazing at the rose as he now held it in his hand, and he smiled—his fear from when I had last taken his blood seemed completely forgotten. "This is beautiful. I didn't know roses of this color actually existed," he said, looking down at the rose for a moment, before staring back up into my cobalt eyes, "I wanted to say thank you, so I waited out here for you."

"You're very welcome, my dear Duo," I said, taking a step forward and placing my hand over his as he held up the rose. He didn't flinch away, didn't even tense—my act of kindness in giving him the rose had solidified his trust and dependence for me. Duo would now truly do all he could to please me, do all he could to endure and minimize the frequency of facing the wrath of my 'cruel side'. "And yes," I smiled, "Black roses do exist, but you have to know where to look. They are very tricky flowers—they know how to stay hidden."

Duo chuckled softly at that, probably imagining a funny metaphor of my words. I hugged Duo to me, just a hug, and pulled him up slightly so I could kiss him on the lips. He returned it eagerly, but not fiercely; passionately, but not hungrily. Duo trusted me now. His feelings were real, even if the reasons behind them were harsh and rather cruel, but Duo was truly mine now. As long as I kept him dependent, kept him in his place, I could either cherish him, or treat him like a slave. I would never even dream of the latter, but I could force him into that if I desired. And he would submit to me willingly. My dear Duo... you will always belong to me.

. . .

Five days had passed, and I hadn't gotten to spend even a moment in my study. Every waking moment, save for the one time I left Duo to go feed, was spent at his side, spent with him in my arms. Every passing minute, I loved Duo more and more. He trusted me so much now... he never once said no.

I had been right, however, about Duo's hesitation to go outside on the grounds. Both times that he had before, he had gotten into some sort of 'trouble,' and now he wouldn't dare go out there without asking me first. Duo stayed indoors most of the time now though, having aligned his schedule with mine so that he slept during the day as well—Duo did enjoy going out to see the sun rise and set, though; he was human after all, and humans thrived on the life given by the sun.

Right now, I stood in the shadowed doorway, watching as Duo took several steps out through the grass. He was barefoot, and the early morning dew surely tickled his feet as he walked. The black ribbon was still tied at the end of his hair.

Duo watched the sun peek out over the horizon of trees, its warm morning rays dancing across his skin. He looked beautiful, as if he was absorbing the sunlight's radiance and taking it for his own.

When Duo returned inside, I hugged him to me and kissed him, my nose filling with the scent of cool morning air. We retreated upstairs, and I took him with me into my bedroom. He lingered by the door when I released his hand, not sure what to do.

"You can come in, Duo, it's alright," I assured him. It was obvious why he was nervous. The last time Duo had been in here, was when I had bonded him to me. I didn't want him to be, but he was uneasy about being in this room, even when I brought him in here. I took his hand as he walked over to where I was standing by the bed. I let my lips mesh with his again, lowering us both so that I was sting on the bed, Duo in my lap.

When I broke away, I let my hand brush over his throat, "May I?" I asked, my tone insisting that I wouldn't if he didn't want me to.

Duo didn't even hesitate—he was so eager to please me, so trusting, so dependent of me: his captor. "Of course," he murmured, tilting his head to the side and willingly exposing his neck.

I wrapped my arms around him, holding him to me as he sat on my lap. "I love you, my dear Duo," I whispered in his ear, before gently pushing my fangs into his pale flesh. It wasn't a sound of discomfort that he made this time, but instead more of pleasurable pain. He was enjoying it now, the feeling of having his blood drawn.

It was strange, almost, how Duo was so eager to please me now. He would do anything to keep me happy. There was a definite difference in Duo's behavior now, and from the last time that I took his blood. Last time, I had been harsh with him, hadn't shown even a hint of kindness and he had been terrified. I had even gone as far as to break my promise, and leave him unconscious in my arms. I never wanted to be like that to him, but I had to remind him of his place every now and then... Duo had to remain dependent of me. This was the first time that I had taken Duo's blood kindly, the fist time he had given in to me willingly. Things were finally the way they should be...

Duo was only dizzy when I pulled away from him. I refrained from kissing him, knowing he didn't like the taste of his own blood. So I just laid us both down on my bed—Duo stared at me blearily as I held him to me. I gently stroked his hair, "Thank you, my dear Duo," I whispered, "You really are the sweetest."

He smiled at me dazedly, his arms draped around me loosely. His coherence was fading, and he murmured a few slurred words. "G'night... Heero... loveyou..."

I kissed his forehead, whispering, "I love you too, Duo." And he was asleep. Closing my eyes, I joined him not much later, sleeping through the bright, sunny day. I couldn't wait to wake up with Duo in my arms.

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**well, hope you guys enjoyed that XD please review? **

**so yeah, ch4 tomorrow, ch5 idk when. maybe a day or two late... hopefully :/ but i promise to get it done XD  
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	4. Testing Boundaries

**and here we have chapter four! this one's good, and the plot thickens too XD you guys'll enjoy it. this chapter is also a bit longer... so yay  
**

**also, there's actually a decent chance that chapter five will actually be up tomorrow. i have it all planned, so i just have to write it out XD wish me luck! XD  
**

* * *

Bloodstained Devotion

Chapter 4

Testing Boundaries

Days like these had become rather frequent in the past two months, coming either once or twice a week. Duo would willingly let me drink his blood, and we'd fall asleep together in my bed. Duo's own bedroom had become nearly unused, since even when I didn't feed off him, we'd still sleep together. I only left his side for a few minutes every other day, taking the blood of a few other humans at a time. I wouldn't kill them, finding that I couldn't stand the taste of normal human blood now. I couldn't even take more than a pint from each of my victims. The very thought of their blood made me sick.

This was affecting me in ways that I shouldn't let happen, however. A vampire who did not kill was weak. And not just as a matter of morals; my kind drew our power from sucking the life out of mortals. We took their lives to fuel our own. I was growing weaker and weaker by the day, having been unable to kill a human in much too long. It wasn't necessarily a drastic change, but I could feel my stamina fading. For the first time in my vampiric life, considering I had never hesitated to kill, I actually grew _tired_ with the rising of the sun. I looked forward to sleep. But, because of all this, I knew. I knew that when the time came, I didn't know when, and I had to fight, I would not be able to last as long as I should.

But things were different in the present. I hadn't had to remind Duo of his place even once during these past few months. He was completely dependent of me; he knew to be submissive, to never question me and to always do as I asked. Lately though, the part of Duo that I had deemed a 'fighter,' back when I first found him, was starting to shine through again. I liked that. I wanted Duo to be himself, but I couldn't let him get too independent. I was a vampire. Duo was a human. I was his captor. He was my hostage... I didn't want to be cruel, but Duo had to know his place.

In order to do this though, I couldn't be kind. I couldn't show him my 'good side'. I had to make him forget that I loved him, if only for a few moments, so he could remember that I could easily kill him if I wanted to. As long as he was human, and I was in control, that fear of death always had to be nagging at the back of his mind. It hurt my heart to do that to him, but I didn't really have a choice. Duo would only stay mine if I kept him afraid... He couldn't belong to me if he was independent of me, right?

I sat on the side of my bed, holding my silver knife. Duo was in the bathroom, taking a shower—night had just fallen. How was I going to do this—frighten him back into complete submission? What should I say? I grimaced, an idea coming to mind.

I quickly tucked the knife back into its holster as Duo stepped out of the bathroom. His skin was damp, his hair wet and freshly braided. He was wearing nothing more than a pair of loose sweatpants. I rose from where I sat on the bed, and he smiled at me. He blinked after a moment though, noticing my sour expression. "Heero? What's wrong?" he asked, stepping closer to me. He reached up to put his hand on my cheek.

I swatted his hand away, yelling in a tone that I had forgotten I possessed, "Don't touch me, human!"

That look of fear, of terror that had ruled him when he was first here, took over in his eyes. He instinctively knew that he was no longer facing my 'good side'. Duo remembered, but one outburst from me surely wasn't enough for it to stick. Hating myself for doing it, I drew my knife and pointed it at his bare chest. He began to back away, eyes wide with fear. "N-no... what are you doing, Heero? ...What did—wh-why?" he stammered, glancing back and forth from my cold stare to the silver knife.

I reached out, shoving Duo backwards into the wall. I pressed the blade up to his throat, careful to not draw blood. He gasped shallowly for breath, trying to back into the wall to avoid the cold silver of the knife. He could surely feel it tingling against his skin, the magic of the silver reacting to the traces of vampiric blood in his veins. I hissed, baring my fangs at him cruelly. "You've been taking advantage of me now. That's not aloud. You've taken it too far," I growled, glaring into his fearful gaze. I let the blade of the knife slide against his throat, being extremely careful not to cut him—I could only let there be the _threat _of violence, but no actual injury.

"Heero..." he managed, his voice small and scared. "P-Please..."

I pulled away the knife, holstering it, only to backhand him across the face. "Shut up!" I yelled. Duo kept his head turned to the side, his shoulders trembling. Tears streamed from his eyes. I leaned in slightly, growling into his ear, "You will only speak when spoken to, you filthy wretch!"

Duo shuddered weakly, and it was clear that he was struggling to keep quiet. I grabbed at his bangs, roughly pulling his head up to look at me. His eyes were glassy with tears. Still clutching his auburn hair, I yanked his head to the side and exposed his throat. "You are lucky to be alive. If your blood wasn't so sweet, I would've killed you long ago," I snarled, before roughly sinking my fangs into his neck. For the third time since I met Duo, I drank his blood until he reached unconsciousness. I was careful this time, however, my anger having been nothing more than an act. I stopped and pulled away before he could actually pass out, however, catching him easily as he collapsed into my arms. I felt so bad for doing this to him.

Duo was still trembling with hysterical fear as I took him into his own room and laid him down in the bed. I sat down beside him, gently brushing his unruly bangs away from his eyes. It almost scared me how easily I had fallen into the role of an abusive captor. I never wanted to be like that to Duo... I just wanted to love him, to make him happy and let him willingly love me back. But on the same token, he couldn't see me as a complete equal. If he did, he surely would fight me when I needed to feed off of him. I could never let Duo say no to me.

With a sigh, I rose to my feet. In the darkness of the night, I brought myself back to the edge of my mansion's grounds. The rosebush, despite the pristine white snow that now painted my surroundings, was still in complete bloom. I plucked a perfect rose, and like I had over two months ago, I stripped it of its thorns and, with a fresh black ribbon, fastened a note that read "For my dear Duo" to its perfect green stem. I laid it in Duo's unresponsive palm, a silent plea of forgiveness for what I had done. I decided that from now on, every time that I had to remind him of his place, I would pick for Duo a black rose.

Duo woke about an hour before nightfall the following evening. He had been out longer than I had expected, but it was understandable. I had scared him so badly; it had surely taken a lot out of him. I had retreated to my own room and slept during the day. I had woken early, however, not long before Duo.

I had felt him come to consciousness through our telepathic link, but I did not speak to him. I just watched him for a while, listened to his thoughts as I lay in my bed, wallowing in my guilt.

Duo had been shocked to find the black rose in his grasp, and for a moment it distracted him from memories of last night. Fear was prominent in his mind for many minutes, until he managed to calm down. All he could think was 'What did I do to upset him?' or 'It's been so long since he's treated me like that. I thought he wouldn't anymore.' I wanted to just go into his room and hug him and apologize, but I stopped myself. I had to let Duo know his place. I couldn't always be there for him.

I continued to listen to Duo's thoughts, my mind an indiscernible presence in his consciousness. Again, Duo's attention shifted to the rose in his gentle grasp. Duo's thoughts seemed as if they were my own, nearly echoing in my mind as my monotone voice. He mused about how kind I really was, and that I didn't mean to be cruel to him when I was. It was rare for me to hurt him. I had never really ever laid a hand on him, never done any lasting damage. I truly did have good intentions, but vampires surely had worse tempers than humans, so I had to take it out on something when I was upset. He could help me fix what made me angry, though, since it was probably his fault in the first place. But he could be there when I needed to vent, he could let me do with him what I would. He didn't mind when I went after him, like I had last night, because the time that I was kind to him was worth the fear and pain. I really did love him, just I didn't—

I shook my head, forcibly clearing it of Duo's thoughts and returning to myself. I hadn't even realized that I had sat up, as Duo had a few moments ago. My hand was loosely closed, as if I was holding a rose. Sometimes, it was easy to get lost in somebody else's thoughts. Sometimes, it was easy to 'become' that person. I hated it. As strong as I was, that flaw of telepathy scared me to no end.

With a grimace, I rose to my feet. I needed to feed, but it could wait—the hunger was only beginning to make itself known. Part of me wanted to leave, however, fearful of seeing Duo right now. On the other hand, I knew I had to stay with him, show him the kindness that would reassure his trust. And that is what I would do. Sighing, I made my way out of the bedroom, down the hall, and then descended the stairs to the front room. With me, I carried the book I had been reading. I would comfort and console Duo when he came out of his room, no doubt both hungry and thirsty by now.

My predictions had been correct, and about five minutes later, I watched out of the corner of my eye as Duo staggered slowly down the staircase. He clutched the railing, obviously not trusting his body to hold him up. Duo's mind had been clear earlier, when I had listened to his thoughts, but the mind and body were completely separate entities, and his body could easily feel drained and weak, while his mind was relatively coherent. Nevertheless, Duo didn't notice me until he reached the end of the stairs, finally looking up. "Heero?" he asked quietly, more whispered, but I could still hear him from where I sat in the middle of the large foyer.

Pretending as if I had just noticed him, I made a somewhat shocked expression and hurriedly got up to put my hand under his arm. His skin was paler than I had seen it in a while, an almost chalky color, and he looked weary and frail. Part of me just wanted to pick Duo up into my arms and make everything better, but I couldn't be that kind; not yet, at least. "Are you alright?" I asked, helping him over to a plush chair—he sat down heavily.

"Yeah... I just—yeah," he stammered, obviously trying to avoid mentioning the reason behind his current state. Duo didn't say any more; instead he just let his gaze fall to the dark wood of the floor. I just stood next to him in silence for a few moments. Duo leaned forward where he sat, his elbow on his knee and his head resting in his palm. His expression was one caught in between weariness and distress. He was obviously being weighed down by his fatigue, as well as the fact that I had shown nothing but kindness for so long, and then suddenly forced him back into his position below me.

"You were out for a long time..." I started, more thinking aloud than anything. But I continued the thought a different way before he could call me on it, "You must be hungry. Shall I make something for you to eat?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Duo smile slightly. A quick tap into his mind told me that this apparently was the real me now, and that he was glad I was back to normal. "That would be great," he murmured, as if any louder would cause his voice to break. Something was wrong, something that I hadn't noticed when I had been listening to his thoughts—or maybe he just hadn't been thinking about it then. I was curious as to what was bothering him.

But I averted my focus, not wanting to dwell on Duo's hurt feelings right now. So I turned, making my way into the kitchen; I heard Duo padding quietly behind me—he was barefoot, still wearing the sweatpants from last night, as well as a baggy t-shirt. Even though he obviously still wasn't feeling himself, Duo insisted on helping me prepare something for him to eat. We were quiet the whole time, neither of us saying a word. Duo uttered no more than a murmured "Thank you," when he sat down at the table. I took a seat beside him, and I wasn't sure if it was right or not, right now, but I scooted my chair closer to him, and slipped my arm around his waist. He didn't tense, but instead leaned into it slightly. I saw him smile gently.

"Duo?" I asked after a while, staring ahead blankly, seeing nothing.

I felt him turn to look up at me, "Yes, Heero?"

I was quiet for a moment, before turning to gaze to his slightly dulled violet eyes. "What would you like to do tonight?" I asked, kindly.

Duo looked down, not replying for several moments. This was something I had never asked him before. "I... I don't know," he muttered, clearly at a loss. I nearly frowned—was this how dependent I had forced Duo to become? But Duo was clever; he quickly tried to cover up his uncertainty with a smile, "What would you like to do? It's still early, and we have the whole night ahead of us."

"We can take a walk out on the grounds. It's nearly a new moon, so all the stars should be visible," I suggested, knowing Duo would agree, regardless.

"That sounds wonderful," he replied, leaning his head on my shoulder. I had no doubt that he was still somewhat weary, but the cool, crisp night air would do him good. Duo had once told me, in a rare moment when his guard was completely lowered—after I had fed off him, and he was adorably incoherent—that he loved the stars. That the simulated night sky of the colonies was nothing like the view from Earth. That the night sky reminded him of how lucky people on Earth were.

. . .

Not much later, Duo and I were strolling down the snowy path that led to the large tree in the garden. Duo had on several warm layers of jackets and the like, while I had simply pulled on my long coat—I was not very sensitive to temperature like humans were.

Our walk was pleasant, a comfortable silence having descended over the two of us. The stars were bright overhead, and there was a peaceful stillness to the snowy landscape. Duo's bare hand was cold in mine, and his cheeks were flushed from the chill. He smiled at me, before gazing up at the stars in awe. Duo looked absolutely lovely.

When we returned back inside, Duo and I changed clothes, and I brought us both to a vampire-friendly bar I knew of on the outskirts of Blood City, the place that housed the Vampire Court. Blood City was just a nickname we vampires used in place of the human's name for the town—it made it seem more like our own, rather than theirs. I felt guilty for hurting Duo like I had last night, and I wanted to make it up to him. I wanted us to have a good time.

I was forced to do a little protective glaring at the bar however, noticing several other vampires staring at Duo. The bartender seemed especially interested in Duo, but it was clear to me that she was human, so I wasn't worried.

"So, what would you two gentlemen like to drink?" she asked, not taking her eyes off of Duo.

"A _bloody_ mary, for me, please," I gave her a quick smirk, flashing my fangs, even though I'm sure my demeanor made the truth of what I was obvious. "And what would you like, my dear Duo?" I turned to gaze at him, smiling slightly.

Duo cast a sideways glance at me for a brief moment, as if unsure, before he turned back to the bartender. "I'll have the same, but uh... no blood in it, please..." he chuckled, and I could see him blushing. I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

The bartender laughed, "Alright, two bloody marys—one extra bloody—for the two gentlemen."

Duo turned to me, grinning. "Who knew they even had places like this?" he laughed, and I couldn't help but smile.

The music in the bar was loud, and there was a crowded dance floor on one side, while on the other there were curtained off little areas, where the vampires could feed off of their humans—whether they just met them now, or had known them for a time, like Duo and I—in peace, while still enjoying the atmosphere of the bar. Duo didn't want to go over there... it was clear in his eyes when he took in our surroundings.

Duo was most definitely a little uneasy being around all these vampires, but it was obvious that he trusted me to protect him. What surprised me, however, was—not long after we had finished our drinks—when three familiar vampires entered the bar. I nodded to Duo, and he kept close to me as we made our way over to go greet them.

"Well, the last thing I had imagined when I came here, was that I'd see all of you again," I smirked, gaining their attention.

"Heero?" the blonde asked, a vampire by the name of Quatre, "My goodness, it is you!" he grinned at me, his teal-colored eyes sparkling in the low light of the bar.

A taller vampire stood beside him, his long bangs swept over one emerald eye. "Good to see you again, Heero," said Trowa, his hand holding Quatre's. The two were lovers... though not by the same circumstances as Duo and I.

Wufei, a vampire with black hair that was pulled back into a tight ponytail, narrowed his cold, onyx eyes at me, "I did not expect to see you here." He turned, gesturing to a blonde woman whose hand he held in his own, "This is Sally."

"Hello, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," she smiled, her fangs clearly visible, "Wuffers talks about you all the time." I saw Wufei suppress a grimace at the pet name.

I would've held out my hand, had it not been laced in Duo's—and I preferred to keep it there. _"These three have been my friends for many long years,"_ I told Duo briefly, through our telepathic link, _"The four of us fought together in the Blood Wars. You can trust them."_

Duo's hand squeezed mine in reply, and I opened my mouth to speak. "This is Duo," was all I said, not wanting to say anything that would either hurt him, or seem awkward to the others. I'm sure they all could sense that he was blood bonded to me. That's all they needed to know to understand—to some degree—what Duo and I had, what we were to each other. "So what brought the four of you all the way here on such a cold night?" I asked, as we made our way to sit at large table. Duo inconspicuously scooted his chair a lot closer to mine—his expression was calm, but his tight hold on my hand said otherwise.

"_Don't worry, my dear Duo. You're safe with me,"_ I told him silently.

"_I trust you Heero. It's just a little scary,"_ he replied, his tone of thought uneasy.

"_Just stay close."_

Quatre offered a kind smile, "I was about to ask you the same thing." He glanced at his lover, still grinning, "Trowa and I were just a little tired of the same old, and we were out walking around Blood City when we ran into Wufei and Sally."

"They decided we should all come here," Wufei said emotionlessly, glancing at the female vampire sitting beside him, then at Quatre on the other side of the table. Sally chuckled quietly.

"And what about you?" Trowa asked, his one visible eye staring at me. The two of us were of the same line, although he was a fledgling of one of my dead, elder sisters—Catherine, was her name. Wufei was also of Aoiro's line, although I'm not sure which of my siblings changed him, many years ago.

I glanced at Duo, before returning my gaze to the others, "I wanted Duo and I to have a fun time tonight, and this just seemed like the place to be." I couldn't completely suppress the smile that tried to creep upon my lips, so I turned to face Duo again. He looked up at me, so I leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He returned it, and for a few moments, neither of us were aware of our surroundings.

Quiet chatter filled our conversation for the next few moments, until Wufei, who was sitting next to me, leaned in and whispered into my ear, "When did you blood bond him? …Was he really worth the trouble?" all the others were surely wondering the same thing. Heero Yuy, no doubt the strongest vampire alive, having fallen for a weak human. It made them wonder.

My eyebrows creased in contempt as I muttered in reply, "It is none of yours, or anyone else's business, but I blood bonded Duo to me over two months ago. He is loyal and knows his place. He will not betray me, if you're wondering that as well." Wufei seemed satisfied with my answer, and he straightened in his chair. I silently relayed his question and my answer—minus the part that Duo was an obedient human—to Duo, through our telepathic link.

"_Are you sure we can trust them…?"_ Duo asked worriedly, doing his best to act calm.

"_Very. They're just concerned about me. But I can take care of myself… and of you."_

So both Duo and I returned our attention to the rest of the conversation, 'tuning in' just in time to hear the end of Quatre's story. He was telling about some strange encounter he had while feeding a few nights ago. Apparently, when he had tried to trick his prey away into some alley, he had gotten caught by the human's significant other, and had to drain her dry as well. This time last year, even three months ago, I would've found his story amusing, but now that Duo was around, I was self-conscious of everything. I was always so careful to keep him happy, to always show him purely my 'good side,' and never emanate a mix between kind and cruel. I didn't want Duo to have to hear about one of us killing other humans… it just didn't seem right.

Trowa seemed to notice my discomfort, and he leaned across the table slightly, quietly requesting for him and I to step outside, to speak in private.

"Absolutely not," I replied. "I'm not going to leave Duo's side for a moment." As in: I can't leave him alone in a bar full of vampires; he's scared enough as it is. But after a brief moment of receiving his one-eyed glare, I hissed, "We can go back to my place if it's that important." Trowa nodded, turning to whisper to Quatre, who had already finished his story.

. . .

I brought Duo back home a few minutes before the others were due to arrive. I hugged him to me as we stood in the front room, kissing his forehead. "I'm sorry, my dear Duo. I didn't expect to see them there. I knew you were afraid."

"It's alright. I knew you would protect me…" he murmured into my shoulder. I didn't want to let go, but the other four would be here momentarily.

I pulled back a little, whispering to Duo a quiet, "Look at me," as I held him around the waist.

Duo looked up, his violet gaze clear. I pressed my lips to his, kissing him deeply, just as I heard the others arrive. I took my time in breaking away, however, not letting their presence disrupt the moment. Finally, when I let go and Duo backed away from the others a step, I acknowledged them. I turned back to Duo, "Go wait for me up in our room, alright? I'll join you soon." I continued that silently, however, not wanting the others to hear, _"And don't listen in on my thoughts for now, alright? I don't want anything to scare you."_ Duo gave a quick nod. He knew to never disobey me. The night was already nearly spent.

It seemed like an uneasy calm had descended as we all waited for Duo to disappear from earshot. It wasn't until the faint click of my bedroom door shutting resounded from upstairs, that Wufei released his outburst.

"Are you fucking insane?" he demanded, his voice obviously subdued in order to keep these matters private from my Duo. Both Sally and Quatre stood off to the side, not wanting any part of the argument that was about to commence.

"I don't know! Why don't you tell me!" I hissed in reply, glaring at both Wufei and Trowa.

Wufei was obviously struggling to keep his temper contained. And dammit, he'd better. One slip and, I don't care if he's my friend and I owe him my life, but I will beat him till even his Sally can't recognize him. I had an idea what this argument was going to be about, and it was not something I wanted to fight over. "You bastard; goin' off with some human! And then taking him out in public! Do you _want_ to flaunt your fucking pet?" I nearly tackled Wufei at that last comment.

"Duo. Is. Not. My. _Pet_." I snarled, my razor sharp fangs bared.

"Then what is he then? Cuz he definitely ain't one of us!" Wufei shot back, daring to speak in a tone just as angry as mine.

That stung, even though I knew it was true. "Does it even matter? I can change Duo into one of us whenever I see fit."

"Then why haven't you already?" hissed Wufei, his relentless anger only seeming to grow.

But I cut in before he could raise his voice any higher. My tone was quiet, calm, yet it held just as much intensity as Wufei's yells. "Because I do not want to end Duo's human life like that, if I don't have to." That wasn't necessarily the real reason, but there was no way I was going to tell them what was really holding me back. In truth, I was too addicted to Duo's blood to change him. It was like my drug, and the irrational part of me was afraid to lose it.

"You've let yourself go," commented Trowa, taking a step forward. His arms were crossed over his chest. "If what you've been telling us is true, and you really are the heir to the Vampire Court, then you should be training to get stronger, not wasting away, waiting on some _human_." There was a moment of smoldering silence before he continued. "We all know you haven't killed in far too long. It's obvious in your gaze—it's not as intense as it used to be."

"We always thought you were Aoiro's strongest fledgling," Wufei put in, his stare still angry, but greatly subdued. "You even had the same icy eyes… but no. We were wrong; because the strongest of Aoiro's purebloods would never lower himself to acts such as courting humans." With that, Wufei turned on his heel, walking over to Sally. "But what's done is done. There's no going back, Heero." And then, the two of them were gone.

Quatre was back at Trowa's side. "He _is_ right, you know," muttered Trowa, "The damage to yourself is done. It may be too late to defend yourself, and your human, when the need for your strength becomes dire, and it has long since left your reach."

He was right, but it hurt to admit it. All I could muster was a half-hearted, "Get out." But they were already gone. I didn't know what to do with myself. They were absolutely right. I was weak now, and it would take too long to regain that lost stamina. What would happen if we were to be attacked before then? Duo would die, that's what would happen. The part of me that hated myself for taking Duo home with me, the part that he would deem my 'cruel side', wanted to simply get rid of Duo now, and try to salvage what was left of my strength. But the rest of me, what I believed to be my true self, would have nothing of that. If anything, I would just have to get stronger to protect Duo now.

My cobalt gaze downcast, I made my way up the stairs and down the hall to the bedroom. Duo was sitting on the bed, waiting for me. When he saw me, he hurried over to my side, "What's wrong?" he draped his arms up over my shoulders, "I… I knew those guys were trouble… You don't have to tell me what they said, but you can take my blood if it'll help cheer you up…" he offered kindly, but I just shuddered, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist. No, I can't start trembling, not with Duo here.

The last thing I wanted right now was Duo's blood. Scratch that, it wasn't even last. I didn't want it at all. I didn't even want to be holding him right now, but I couldn't bear to push him away. My love for, my possession of, Duo had blinded me, and I did not want to see again. I wanted things to stay the way they were, and never change. I wanted to just be able to hold Duo in my arms forever… but what the others had said was true. Danger was imminent, and such a thoughtless act, like bringing Duo out in public with me, could mean the end for both of us. It hadn't even crossed my mind that it wasn't safe to take Duo with me to that bar. Sure, I knew to be wary of other vampires, but not the ones who were out for _my_ life.

I kissed Duo's forehead, my hand on the back of his head, stroking his hair. "I love you," I told him, swore to him. _I know it's wrong, but I love you, Duo. More than anything._

"I love you too, Heero," he murmured into my shoulder, his eyes surely closed as he returned my embrace.

When the sun rose, I laid awake in bed, unable to sleep. Duo was dozing soundly beside me, on his side with his arm slung over my chest. I held his listless hand in mine, trying not to listen to the angry words spinning around in my head like a broken record.

"_Do you want to flaunt your fucking pet?" _

"_You've let yourself go." _

"_The strongest of Aoiro's purebloods would not lower himself to acts such as courting humans." _

A suppressed grunt of anger slipped past my lips, and I put my free hand to my head, grabbing roughly at my short, thick hair. I loved Duo. But I wanted the power that no doubt was surely mine. But why couldn't I have both? Wasn't there a way to protect Duo, even in my current state?

It was winter, so the days were much shorter than the nights. Duo slept in; so after night fell, I eased myself out of the bed and went to stand at the window. I hadn't gotten even a wink of sleep. The moon was bright, despite that it was only a mere sliver in the sky. The stars only aided it in illuminating my mansion's grounds. A sudden flash of movement, heading towards the forest, caught my eye.

It was a vampire, without a doubt. It was probably one of the rogues, so I dismissed it. They sometimes came onto the grounds, in search of prey. But something was nagging at my mind now, and it stayed with me for the rest of the night—was that really nothing more than a rogue vampire? What if it had been one of those after my life? I shuddered.

My gut instinct told me: Duo and I were no longer safe.

* * *

**ha. a _bloody_ mary XD and poor heero... he got told. **

**so yeah, please review (thanks so much to those of you who already have XD), and chapter five will be up tomorrow or the day after!  
**


	5. Attack and Defense

**chapter 5! i finished it on time XD so, this is, as of yet, like the most important chapter. the plot only thickens... and dang its really friekin thick. almost solid now XD **

**so i hope to have ch6 up soon, but if its not up tomorrow, dont worry. this fic is about halfway done, and i swear i'll finish it XD  
**

* * *

Bloodstained Devotion

Chapter 5

Attack and Defense

It was three days since I first spotted that mysterious vampire on my mansion's grounds. I hadn't seen him since, nor have I fed off of Duo during this time. Duo was obviously wondering why I didn't dare sink my fangs into his throat, since I normally would've by now, but he didn't ask. Duo did not want to upset me, no matter the cost.

I've been sort of sulking, kind of closed up and quiet. My mansion's basement has come into use again; it was a sort of training arena, set up with mannequins and targets. Duo would watch me train, watch me leap about with my knife and fall back into the memories of the war. I had never forgotten how to fight. But it was clear to me now—I could feel it in my entire body, feel the persistent, dull ache—I had truly let myself grow weak. Had I been human, I would've been panting heavily for breath, my heart racing, as I took a step back from it all.

Duo looked up at me from where he sat on the floor by the wall, an open book in his hands. He watched me for a moment, saw as my eyesight blurred and faltered for a moment. I gave a heavy blink, squinting slightly at the human-shaped figure before me. I couldn't do this. Had this been three months ago, I would still be at top strength right now, even after this many hours of training. I grimaced, tightly clutching the hilt of my knife.

"I'll be back, Duo. I need to go feed," I told him, sheathing my knife. But then, before I could leave, I heard something echo down the stairs, from up on the main floor. Both Duo and I froze. It was the dead of night, so there was no way that it was the house keeper…

"Wait here," I whispered to Duo, drawing my knife and making my way towards the stairs. Silently, I begged that this was not an intruder. I was too weak right now to fight them off. I didn't even trust myself to defend Duo right now.

So I crept up the stairs, wary and ready to spring into action. The kitchen, which held the door to the basement, was empty. I snuck out into the open, towards the front room. I stopped short when I got to the archway that led out of the kitchen, and peeked around the corner.

Sure enough, there was indeed an intruder. She was a vampire, obviously, and her short black hair hung in her eyes; she wore an old looking military uniform—it was of a style that I recognized… Treize. This was one of Treize's minions. My expression deepened into a hard scowl, as if my glare alone could vanquish the figure standing at the base of the grand staircase. If only it could.

It wasn't long until she turned and noticed me, but I was ready to attack by then. With only a thought, I was in front of her, swiping with my knife. But she dodged, leaping back and up the stairs a few steps.

"Treize sent you," I made known, my tone icy. It didn't faze her.

"Indeed he did. Is that all you have to say?" she asked, before launching herself at me. She lashed at me with her claws, but I could clearly see the knife and holster at her hip.

"Who are you, and why are you here," I demanded, leaping back and landing lightly on my feet. I held my knife at the ready.

"My name is Lucrezia Noin," she said, "Of the Zodiac Line. And I am here to give you a warning."

I launched myself at her, but she leapt to the side. My knife only made contact with her arm, slicing a thin scratch through her sleeve and into her skin. She hissed, fangs bared, and clutched the minor wound, feeling the sting of the silver. "What kind of warning," I pressed, before she shot towards me. I ducked down, kicking her legs out from under her. She skidded to the ground, sliding across the dark wood floor.

Noin pushed herself up, in the very least, feeling a little disoriented from suddenly being forced to the ground. "A warning to remind you, that you need to remember your place, as a _subject_, Mr. Heero Yuy. You are a common vampire, and you hold no influence over our Court. His Excellency sent me to remind you of this. He said I could use whatever means of force I desired to attempt to get it through your thick skull," she smirked, slowly stalking towards me.

I carefully backed away, but as I glanced around the large front room, my attention was taken elsewhere. I saw Duo. He was standing a few paces away from the kitchen, here in the front room, simply watching. He was clearly afraid, and I stared at him in shock. Duo… Duo had disobeyed me! I told him to stay put, and he disobeyed my command! I am sure that his curiosity and concern for my wellbeing had forced him to do it, however. He was not truly at fault. But still! Duo had shown his presence; he was now in danger. Did he think he could fight for me, or something else insane?

That brief moment that I was too shocked to move was all Noin needed to land an attack. My body shuddered and I suppressed a cry as her claws stabbed into my gut, forcibly raking up and under my ribs. I was frozen, unable to move as my body tensed in agony. I felt my insides being virtually shredded. In a strange sense, I felt her fingers take hold of one of my ribs, and snap it, doing the same with the two above. I thanked whatever god that would listen, that my inanimate heart was out of her claws' reach. If she was to destroy that one vital organ, I would die. Noin pulled me to her, her claws still deep in my chest. Her tone was mocking in my ear, "And there is your pitiful human, I presume? What a pretty pet. Maybe killing him, slowly and painfully, will get my message through your head?" she nearly purred, obviously enjoying the thought of hurting Duo. I would not stand for such a thing, but I was in no condition to stop her.

My consciousness actually _wavered_ as she yanked her claws out of me roughly. I sank limply to the ground, my eyes slipping closed and the darkness pulling at my awareness. My entire body shuddered, again and again, waves of overwhelming pain burning in my chest. I could feel the broken bones reconnecting, and the shredded tissue reforming, but they weren't healing nearly fast enough. I still could not rise. My own vampiric blood dripped slowly past my lips. Distantly, through the pained haze, I heard Duo cry my name in agony. Again, I shuddered. Noin let out a victorious laugh, and I could hear Duo whimpering. She was back by me again, and by now, I had healed enough to have regained mobility. My hand tightened on the hilt of my knife, and I rose to my feet quicker than she could react. With a cry, I stabbed my knife into her chest, forcing her to the ground and twisting the blade. The knife shattered her heart, and the silver's magic burst through her veins. Just before Death took its hold, Noin muttered the name, "Zechs…" And then she was silent. I would've done away with her in a much harsher manner, but I couldn't spare even the moment longer than it took to simply put an end to her.

Quickly, I stood and backed away. The wound in my chest was nearly healed already, leaving a bloodied stain on my shirt. I hurried over to Duo, kneeling at his side and taking his trembling body into my arms; I could not let Death take my precious Duo as well. Noin's silver knife was lodged deep in his abdomen, blood leaking from the wound. His breath came in shallow rasps and I knew there wasn't much time. "Duo? Duo, can you hear me?" I asked quickly, doing all that I could to suppress the panic.

A somewhat relieved feeling washed over me when Duo's violet eyes fluttered open. He stared up blearily for a moment, before turning his gaze towards me. I didn't care that he could see the fear in my cobalt gaze. "H-Heero…" he managed, squinting shut his eyes and letting his head fall back over my arm. He let out a pained whimper, his hand moving to clutch at the knife. I stopped him from pulling it out—the silver may be burning him, but at least leaving the knife in the wound would keep his blood from flowing freely.

"It's okay, Duo," I promised him, and he stared up at me through half open eyes. "You're gonna be fine. I love you," it was hard to keep my voice from trembling. I could see the life fading from his gaze; I'm not sure if he even heard me.

"I…" Duo ground out, clearly struggling to keep his eyes open, to see me, "I didn't mind… being your captive…" He fought for breath, continuing to force out what he surely believed to be his last words, "I really did… love… you…" And then his voice died, his eyes closed, and his head lolled back over my arm. Duo lost consciousness and his body fell limp, save for the shaky, persistent rise and fall of his chest. Somehow, his heart continued to flutter behind his ribs, too stubborn to give in. I knew what I had to do now.

I gave Duo a brief kiss on the lips, feeling how warm they were against mine for the last time. And then, not needing to give him any warning now, I plunged my fangs into his throat. This was the final time that I would ever taste his blood. And yet, it was because of my addiction to him that I had grown weak, and was unable to defend him. I hated myself for it, for everything that I had done and was about to do to him, but I had to change him now. Duo would die if he remained human.

I drank about as much of Duo's blood as I usually dared, not wanting to take any risks in failing to change him. Even with the most experienced of vampires, the chance of failure was always there—it was as simple as taking too much of the human's blood, or giving them too much of your own… Or maybe he was already too close to death for the new life to take hold. There were so many ways to cause a complication. I had changed humans before, in the past, but never in a situation like this, where I was under the stress that my lover could easily die if I made even one small mistake. Duo's breath was reduced to barely existent gasps; if I was to leave him alone in this state, he would surely die. But I wasn't going to leave him alone, not even for a moment. Never again. Duo was mine and I had to protect him; I had to do all that I could to keep him alive… even if it meant going against his wishes, and making him a vampire like me.

As I pulled away from Duo, I wrapped my hand around the hilt of the knife in his stomach, pulling it out gently, then tossing it away. There wasn't enough blood left in his body for him to bleed much more. For a moment, I gazed sadly at Duo's pallid face. He looked on the brink of death; his eyes closed, lips parted as he gasped weakly for breath. But then I hurriedly drew my knife, pulling up the sleeve on my left arm, and slicing open my wrist. I cut right along the scar from last time, from when I had blood bonded Duo to me. I winced, a small noise of pain escaping my lips as I held my bleeding wrist to Duo's dry lips. His body responded to the thick liquid flowing into his mouth, forcing him to swallow again and again. I held him up, so that he would not choke. Duo's body went rigid in my arms, the magic in my blood clutching greedily at his heart, blackening it. I took hold of his wrist with my free hand, feeling for his thready pulse. It was weak, but present. And for a short moment, it actually grew stronger, before fading again.

After a minute or two, Duo fell limp again in my arms. I blinked, forcing my eyes to stay open. Blood was draining from my veins, and I would not stop it; not yet. I watched as Duo slowly drank my blood, finally pulling away when he had taken nearly as much from me, as I just had from him. I tore off my sleeve, wrapping it around, and tying it to my wrist, to stop the bleeding. I pulled Duo's limp body closer to me, using a dry part of my shirt to wipe the blood from his mouth. And then I just hugged him to me, shuddering and forcing myself to stay conscious. I felt completely drained, dizzy and weak; much like a human would after losing blood. But vampires only felt like this when they had given up too much, when the need to replenish it was dire. But I couldn't leave Duo. I'd wait until he awoke at sunset before going to feed. We'd go together… Given, he actually did wake up.

I winced, forcing myself to focus on the feel of Duo's pulse under my fingertips. It was weakening, without a doubt, and I could feel the time in between each beat gradually lengthen. His breathing was deliberate, as if he had fallen farther than a deep sleep; and it only continued to slow. Duo was dieing. What scared me the most was the possibility that Duo really was dieing. That it was not my blood doing this to him, and he would die as a human, never to wake as a vampire. I would not know, not until the next sunset, if I had succeeded in changing him into a much less fragile being.

For a moment, my head fell and my eyes forced themselves to close; my hand held Duo's loosely. It was overwhelming, how weak I felt. My vision was hard to make sense of as I looked up and gazed at Duo. I desperately needed to go feed… but I refused. Duo's life was more important than my personal needs, and I could wait forever if it meant never leaving his side. But it was gradually becoming harder to focus, and I had to strain to make sense of it when Duo's heart gave its last, pitiful flutter. When the barely existent rise and fall of his chest ceased… and he went very still.

Duo was dead.

I did not attempt to bite back the cry of distress, not sure if he was truly gone forever, or if he would soon wake in my arms. The horrible feeling in my chest screamed the former. I just knew… I just knew that something had gone wrong—this was my punishment for becoming so weak, for being unable to protect him. I hugged Duo's inanimate body to me, not caring in the least as the tears finally began to stream from my eyes. I don't think I've ever cried in my two hundred years as a vampire… Not once, even when I was first changed, and I was still so very human. It was a strange feeling, crying like I was, but I didn't have the strength to fight it. I just rocked back and forth slowly, clutching Duo's corpse and sobbing silently. His skin was pale and cold… Oh, so cold…

. . .

The sun rose and the day went on without the two of us. Not long after dawn, I had simply collapsed to the side, the vampiric darkness dragging me under. I could not make sense of the world before me when I finally awoke, only minutes before sunset. If Duo was to survive this ordeal, if I had really succeeded in changing him, he would awake the moment the sun completely vanished below the horizon.

The suspense in my chest grew with each passing moment. I could see it growing darker, the slivers of light cast beneath the many windows and curtains dimming and fading out. All went dark, and my world remained still. Duo remained still. Oh gods, no…

But a few moments later, just before I was about to lose all hope, his body went rigid in my arms and an agonized moan slipped past his lips. His murmur vaguely sounded like my name.

"Duo?" I asked, my voice low and heavy. It sounded strange to my ears.

But he didn't hear me; Duo's agony was clear, and I doubted he could even feel me holding him. Duo's hand moved, slowly, jerkily, to clutch at his chest, at his heart. He let out a strangled cry, blinded by the pain eating away at his insides. It scared me how well I remembered what that hurt felt like, how intense it was; if vampires could dream, those few moments of my life would surely haunt my every nightmare.

I hadn't even noticed, but with a glance down at Duo's stomach, I saw that his knife wound was already healed. It had left a perfect, pale scar. With a grimace, I just held Duo to me, silently begging that his pain would soon pass, but equally as grateful that he was alive enough to even feel that pain. I had succeeded… and as Duo's mouth opened in his agonized cries, I could clearly see his perfect white fangs. Duo was a vampire now… and I had not failed in saving him.

It wasn't long before Duo's cries ceased, and he went still and quiet for several moments. Hs eyes fluttered open. He stared up dazedly, his violet eyes dull, but clear. When his gaze met mine, he stuttered my name, as if he was shocked beyond believe to see me holding him so close, "H-Heero…?"

"Oh Duo…" was all I could manage before impulse forced me to fuse my lips to his. Somehow, I found the strength to kiss him as desperately as I did, to bring him to his feet, then teleport us both to somewhere teeming with possible victims. Duo knew what to do, and he disappeared from my sight. He wasn't himself right now… No, the primal instinct to feed, directly after being changed, had a hold on him now. He was ravenous. He would kill and kill and kill and finally be satisfied, only when he became sick with bloodlust. Those very instincts tugged at my consciousness now, pleading with me to replenish what was lost, but I knew how to control the need. It was something I forced myself to do, as I watched Duo numbly walk away from me and disappear into the crowd. He was completely detached from himself, as if the Duo I knew was still lost to the icy death that had taken hold of his soul. But he would return to himself soon… he would return to _me_ soon.

Following Duo's example, I blended into the crowd. I hung towards an alley, knowing I looked suspicious in wearing a shirt with only one sleeve, as well as several bloodstains on its front. Nonetheless, I found a victim, and ravenously drank until I could no more. I still was unable to take very much, despite my desperate hunger. I fell back against the wall of the alley, feeling sick but pushing it down. This was so wrong. I wouldn't be able to survive if I couldn't overcome this tolerance for nothing else besides Duo's blood. Duo wasn't human anymore, and I had no choice but to drink only the blood of average humans again. I had done it for two hundred years, and a whole ten weeks was affecting me like this? It was wrong. So wrong, on so many levels. I hated myself for doing that to Duo, for letting myself become as weak as I had.

As I sank my fangs into the throat of yet another human, I forced myself to take even after I wanted to purge myself of this person's blood. If I could kill just once, drain at least one human completely dry, it would boost my strength incredibly. It had been far too long since I had last killed, and after all this time, something that I had taken for granted would give me a feeling of incredible power. I ignored every warning signal going off in my mind as I continued to take this person's blood. I was beyond the point of disgust, and I just forced myself not to taste. I hated this, oh I hated it so much.

Suppressing a nonexistent gag reflex, I backed away from the dead human and wiped my mouth. I had done it. For the first time in too long, I had killed. I was still unsatisfied, but there was no way I could get myself to take any more blood; not now, at least. I brought myself back home and just curled up in my bed, feeling impossibly weak and vulnerable. Duo wouldn't be back until at least midnight, so I had a few hours to myself. I wanted him here… I wanted _human_ Duo here. Not for his blood, but just because he was what I had fallen for. I didn't know if making him a vampire had changed him… What if, now that he had strength to fight me, he would? What if he went back on his words, _"I really did love you"_? I curled into myself further, unable to stomach the sickening taste in my mouth, unable to deal with the feeling of dread in my heart.

. . .

Duo returned sometime after midnight, and he was silent as he put his hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see him, standing there, a haunted look in his violet gaze. "H-Heero? Wha-what the hell happened back there?" he fell back, sitting on the floor beside the bed and staring up at me, "I thought… I thought she killed me." Duo looked away.

I pushed myself up, forcing a smile, "She almost did… but I managed to change you just in time…" My smile became a frown, and I gestured for him to sit on the bed next to me. He did so and I wrapped my arms around him, "I'm so sorry Duo… I didn't want to have to do that to you… You wanted to stay human, and I wanted…" _to keep you mine._ "I wanted to protect you…"

"It's alright, I forgive you," he murmured, and I could hear that he was struggling not to cry. "You did what you had to, and I'm grateful to you for saving me… even if my humanity was lost somewhere in between." I suppressed a shudder. Duo probably thought that I had spared his life twice now… first when I didn't kill him when we met, and now when Noin tried to kill him… Oh my poor Duo, what have I done to you?

I gently rubbed his back, trying to lighten the mood, "At least now you won't be so afraid if we ever go back to that bar…" I gave a weak chuckle, and he returned it.

"Yeah… though we should probably both get cleaned up first before we do that," I could hear the small smile in his tone.

Several long, silent moments passed, before either of us spoke again. I was curious, and his words were nagging at my conscience. "Did you really mean it… when you thought you were dieing, and you said that you really did love me…?" I asked tentatively, not even daring to bring up the words that I really wanted to confirm the truth behind. _"I didn't mind… being your captive…"_ Was that even true?

Duo stayed where he was, still hugging me tightly, "Yeah. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else, Heero… and I don't even care about the circumstances that brought us together… I just love you."

That was a huge relief off my shoulders, "Thank you, Duo… and I love you too. More than anything." And yet, something strange struck me. There was something slightly different about Duo's behavior. He was more open to me now, braver, as if he felt I wasn't so much of a threat to him anymore… and he was right. Because now that Duo was no longer human, the only reason for me keeping him here was love, love that had developed in the face of his fear towards me. I could still threaten him, still easily kill him, but what reason did I have? There was nothing scary that I wanted from him. Even more so now, Duo was surely going to start forgetting his place, something that held him back when he was human. But not now. And yet, I found myself thinking that that wouldn't bother me, that this should be a real, true relationship between us, with no fear holding either of us back.

We just sat there for a while, holding each other desperately. I never wanted to let him go.

"Heero…?" Duo asked after many minutes of quiet. He didn't move from my embrace.

"Yes, Duo?" I replied, my tone subdued. I felt… sad.

His arms tightened around my shoulders, "What we have is real, right? Despite everything, and the fact that you're a vampire and I was human, we really do love each other, right? You really do love me?"

I pulled away at that, staring into his fearful violet eyes. That fear… it was not one that I had ever seen in him before. "Of course, Duo!" I nearly exclaimed, before catching myself and calming my tone, "Of course, Duo… what we have is love, and it's gotten us this far, hasn't it? …And you're not human anymore. In the very least, it's real now."

Duo nodded, a tacit 'okay', before hugging me tightly again. Duo… My dear Duo… oh how I love you so. I hate myself for what I've done to you.

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**YES DUO ALMOST DIED. hehe :3**

**i had a lot of fun writing that part... and shame on noin XD the ending of this chapter is a tad eh, but it's fine. i just imagined that scene a little different, but i guess it had to be that way, considering what comes next. *insert spoiler* so yeah, until... until chapter 6 is done! byebye XD**


	6. Breaking Bonds

**okay, i'm like really sorry about this, guys. i'm really disappointed in how this chapter came out... it's too short, and i couldn't get everything i wanted into it. but with the story's predicament right now, i'm sure it would've been a crappy chapter, regardless. sorry... i promise that chapter7 will be a lot better. i'm gonna start it now. **

**sorry guys...  
**

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Bloodstained Devotion

Chapter 6

Breaking Bonds

For days, I searched. I ravaged my study, not leaving until I was too exhausted and hungry to function. Duo was waiting outside the door for me, as if he had known I would soon emerge. He put his hand under my arm, no doubt thinking that I was about to stagger. I'm sure my ragged appearance implied that I would.

He smiled at me lightly, and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on my cheek. "Good to see you again," he chuckled. That's right. I hadn't so much as even seen Duo while I was holed up in my study. He had surely missed me... But I had been too occupied to even wonder what he had been doing these past few days.

"How long was I in there?" I asked, my voice somewhat hoarse from disuse.

"Three days," he told me simply, solemnly. Something gave me the feeling that he was angry, but trying to hide it. "Did you find what you were in there for, at least?"

"No..." I muttered, walking away from him. I put my hand on the railing of the balcony, leaning against it heavily, and looking down into the front room. I saw that the house keeper had cleaned up the blood left on the floor from the fight that forced me to change Duo. "I can hardly even make sense of the text anymore... This is so frustrating, Duo... I'm running out of time; it could be days or maybe weeks before they come back, but I need to have it by then...!" I squinted shut my eyes, angry that I could not find the last piece to the giant puzzle: How did Treize come to power?

"I wish you would at least tell me what you're looking for. I could probably help you, you know." His tone was harsh, yet still subdued. Duo was frustrated with me for being so secretive, but I didn't want to drag him into my troubles any further than he had already fallen. His submission to me was clearly fading.

"No, Duo." I turned to look at him, my eyes narrowed in conviction, "I had to make you a vampire the last time I screwed up and got careless. I won't let that happen again… I won't let them kill you for real this time." I frowned, trying to get my point across. I knew Duo missed me, I knew he wanted me to hold him, but I couldn't right now. I had been so attached to him, and now it was clear that I needed to keep my distance, in order to keep him safe. Duo may be a vampire now, and therefore much less fragile, but I still did not want to take any chances. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he got hurt doing something I could've prevented.

"But that's exactly it! I'm a _vampire_ now, Heero! You turned me into one, to make me stronger, so that I wouldn't die from a wound that my human body couldn't handle! I can defend myself now!" Duo argued, his voice rising to a near yell. He was angry at me.

"No, Duo! You're just a fledgling! There is no way on earth that you'd be able to stand up to vampires like that, vampires like me! You're weak, Duo. I hate to say it, but compared to me, you might a well still be human!" I tried not to yell, tried to keep the anger from my voice, but my nerves were beyond frazzled, and I just could not keep hold on my temper.

"Still be human? Ha!" he gave a cruel laugh, "Do you think I _wanted_ to be like this? You told me that you wouldn't change me, and yet here we are! You act as if this is all my fault, that it's because of _me_ that all this shit happened!" his voice was mocking at first, but then it darkened into a tone that I had never even thought Duo had the capability to possess, "...Oh, I know Heero. I know everything. I've read through your mind like the open pages of a book, and I know your every secret. I know that you think you're the heir to the Vampire Court. I know that you tried to keep me dependent of you, so that you could take my blood whenever you wanted," his tone was low, dripping with anger. His eyes were narrowed, deep amethyst burning holes into my gaze. "I know that you're scared I'm going to leave you now. And you know what, Heero? If you keep this up, I'm gonna. Cuz I'm a vampire now, and I can go wherever the hell I want, and you'll never find me."

"Duo…" was all I could manage. I hadn't had the slightest clue that Duo had been snooping around in my mind. He… he was stronger than I thought, wasn't he?

"_Like hell I am,"_ his voice echoed in my mind. He was reading my thoughts again.

"Duo, please… I don't want this. I don't want to argue with you… All I want is to keep you safe—I love you," I forced out, at a complete loss for words. For once, it was me talking in a subdued tone. I felt as if our long since designated roles had been switched.

"But I can do that myself now! If anything, I have that teleportation thing down well enough to avoid getting hurt in a battle. What do you think I've been doing these past three days? Sitting around? No, I've been down in the basement, training like a madman. I'm gonna get stronger, Heero. I'm gonna help you win this and we're gonna have a happily ever after. Both of us." He took a few steps towards me, his bare arms—he was wearing a tank top—out with his palms up, a gesture to help him make his point. For the first time, I noticed the wiry muscles of his arms; Duo _was _strong. "I'm sure you didn't know this, since you never once asked about my life before you, but I know how to fight. As a human, vampires were intimidating because I knew I didn't stand a chance against them. But now I have that same endurance, and I don't have to fear them anymore," there was a long pause, and his eyes seemed to darken, "I don't have to fear _you_ anymore."

That hurt. My god, those words stung like a silver dagger to the heart. Again, all I could manage was a whisper of his name, "Duo…" I had known that this was going to happen. He had no reason to submit to me anymore. If anything, he had every reason to rebel. I had taken his blood, kidnapped him, frightened him. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry Duo, I… I wish I had never met you. At least that way, I would've never been able to hurt you."

His expression seemed to soften, but only slightly, "I wish that too, Heero… Or at least, I did, in the beginning… But don't get me wrong, I don't hate you, Heero. I love you more than you could ever know, but on the same token, I don't want to keep our relationship the way it was!" Duo's right hand moved to his hip, and he grasped at something that I hadn't noticed he had with him. I recognized it instantly: it was Noin's silver knife—Duo had taken it. He just kept his hand there, not drawing it. "You don't know me, Heero. The only side of Duo Maxwell that you know is the scared, submissive part of me that formed as self preservation. You don't know the true me. But you never will, either… because, looking back, I'm not _me_ anymore. Do you have any idea how hard it is to say no to you? To disobey any of your wishes? Where I stand with you is etched in stone, and I'm just too damned scared to fight it! I couldn't see this before, when I was human, but I'm not bound by your fear anymore, so we can make our love something real now…" his voice faded and he looked away, his hand falling from the hilt of his knife. "There's no way I could bring myself to hurt you, even if I tried…"

"Oh Duo…" I took a few steps forward, closing the space between us and trying to hug him. He backed away, but his pained expression told me that he hadn't wanted to. "I want that too. I want us to have something real, something true. But…" I swallowed hard, not caring that I sounded weak, desperate for saying this, "But I'm scared to lose you."

Duo took another step back, his gaze sad, but without giving up his fight to convince me, "But you don't have to worry anymore, Heero. I can protect myself now. Yeah, I still need some practice, and I need to get stronger, but if we fought together, back to back, there's no doubt in my mind that we'd make it out unscathed."

I contemplated this for a moment. Duo was right, we could probably tag-team rather well, and I trusted that he was as strong a he said he was, but I didn't want to take any risks in losing him…

"You won't lose me," he said simply, obviously having read my thoughts. "I promise I won't die, no matter what happens to me from here on out." Duo took a hesitant step forward, then another, his arms going up over my shoulders and his fingers lacing in my hair. My god, he was trembling horribly, deep inside his core.

I hugged him back, tightly, gently rubbing his back. "What's wrong?" I asked, the sudden change of subject and of his behavior making our conversation from just a moment ago seem like it never happened.

Duo waited a few moments before replying, "I'm scared for _you_ Heero. You always seemed so strong to me, when I was still human, but I can see it now… you're falling apart. You're more than just afraid I might die…"

Oh Duo… you have no idea how right you are. I really was falling apart—I couldn't kill when I fed, I couldn't find the proof I needed in those books, I couldn't trust myself to be able to fight next time one of Treize's goons showed up, and I couldn't rely on myself to protect Duo and keep him alive. "I'll be alright," I promised, though I wasn't sure if it was a lie or not.

Duo sighed, no doubt having picked up the hint of uncertainty in my tone. "Yeah…" he paused, and his voice was more level than it had been, "I'll protect you though. If you can't fight… I'll fight for you. Heero, you're my everything. I can't help but do everything I can to please you, even if it means giving up my own happiness… So I'll do all that I can to help you."

I squinted shut my eyes, holding him tighter, as if any looser of a grip would cause him to fade from my arms. "I'd say you don't have to, but I know that won't stop you. I love you Duo. I hope you can understand that, no matter what happened while you were human, I love you with all my heart," I whispered, not sure that I would be able to speak any louder without my voice breaking.

"I know Heero… and I love you just the same." There was a pause, before he pulled away, "C'mon, you need to feed. It'll help you feel better…"

I just nodded, and Duo brought us to some dark alleyway. The sky was a bright, pale and overcast gray, but he didn't seem to care—Duo was still a very young fledgling, and therefore still possessing most of his humanity; the sun didn't bother him as much. I however, was forced to shy away into the darkest shadow. I didn't dare try to stray out into the day… not in my current state, at least. "Duo… I can't go out there. This is no place to feed… I can wait till nightfall, let's go back," I hissed, staring at him from my shadowy refuge.

"It's okay, Heero. I'll go find someone for you. Wait here," he told me, before hurrying off. I'm sure, that if I had been in top condition, I would've been able to go out there with him… But even still, I had one major problem with sunlight: the time that it had been used against me as a torture device. I was extremely sensitive to sunlight because of that. I found myself musing about that horrible time as Duo was gone…

It had been during the Blood Wars. Trowa, Quatre, Wufei and I had been captured by the enemy, and each of us was subject to a different torture method in an attempt to get us to talk. I didn't know what happened to the others, but they had chosen to tie me down outside under the bright, hot summer sun, while one of their humans interrogated me, while cutting my bare chest with a silver knife every time I stayed silent; I had kept my mouth shut during the entire ordeal. It was Hell. I had never wanted to die more in my entire life, had never known the true power of the sun against my kind. It drained the life from me, made me delirious, and I had been in the worst shape out of the four of us when we finally made our escape—they had had to carry me, I had been so weak.

Duo returned a few minutes later, followed by a tall, burly man; he was swaying his hips as he walked. He apparently used charm instead of force to lure humans to his bite, and I could understand why—Duo was beautiful, delicate and small. Of course he'd have better luck flaunting that, than scaring people into going with him… I suppressed a shudder. That was my way of doing things, not his.

I remained in the shadows, somewhat hidden as Duo and the man got closer. "Well, what are you waiting for? This is far enough," the man demanded.

I smirked when I heard Duo's reply. His voice was heavy with dark sarcasm, "Oh, I'm not waiting at all." Duo drew his knife then, grabbing the man's wrist. The guy winced at Duo's no doubt nearly bone-snapping grip.

"What the hell?" the man growled, trying to back away from Duo's grip and knife.

But Duo pulled him deeper into the alley, closer to where I was lurking in the shadows. "He's all yours, Heero," Duo smirked over his shoulder, before swinging the guy around and slamming him into the wall, knocking him out. I had not expected Duo's strength to be that… powerful. But the reason behind that was clear—I hadn't even realized—Duo hadn't wanted to become a vampire. And judging by his initial strength, that desire was very strong. Because the more a human despised the idea of being changed into one of my kind, the stronger he or she would be when first changed. It made sense now.

"Thank you, Duo…" I murmured, not sure what to say as he sheathed his knife and fixed his shirt—one of the sleeves of his tank top had slipped off of his shoulder. Too lazy to pick the guy up and hold him against the wall, I just bent down a bit and sunk my fangs into his throat. Hot blood flooded into my mouth, and I was able to tolerate it quite a bit longer than usual—I had gone for days without a single drop of blood, and I needed it desperately. But it wasn't long until I couldn't take any more, until I pulled away and staggered back a step. Duo put his arm out, steadying me. I felt embarrassed, ashamed. I couldn't even kill the guy, despite my dire need for blood. Duo said nothing.

He brought us back to my room of the mansion, and I fell into the bed. It truly felt as if our roles had been switched, as if Duo was the one caring for me now, and I was the one who had been subject to his wishes and whims. But when Duo curled up beside me, wrapping himself in my arms, I knew that I still had power over him… even if I hated myself for having it in the first place. We slept for hours, until the sun had completely set—it had been midmorning when I had emerged from my study.

Several days passed, and I often left the mansion to go feed. I was doing all that I could to regain my strength, and slowly but surely, I could feel myself becoming _me_ again. I had balanced my time between feeding, training, and pouring over the many books in my study. Duo had joined me in my search, and he spent his time looking through the books that were still on the shelves, trying to find new data for me to work with, while I checked and double checked the text that I already had.

It was about noon on the fifth day, and we were exhausted, about to give up for now. But then, just as I was closing the book I had been flipping through, Duo made an exclamation of discovery. "Heero! Look at this! It might have what we're looking for!" he quickly stepped over to my desk, handing me a small, yellowed book. "It was hiding behind a bunch of other books…" The cover was a fabric-like, faded green, with what was left of the title written in gold. I couldn't make out what it said, but the line below the title was clear. In a once perfect gold script, it read 'A Documentation, as Accounted by Dorothy Catalonia'.

"Here, open it. The first page says the title… I think this is what we're looking for," Duo flipped open the cover, reading the title aloud, "The Wondrous War. And it's dated from early in the After Colony Era—that's when the Blood Wars were, right?"

I nodded, "Yes; back when I was still a fledgling and everyone who could fight was brawling in the shadows of the night." I took a brief moment to reminisce on the long since past days of the war, "It wasn't human blood that we were fighting over, as what we have dubbed the war would suggest… Instead, we were fighting for the supremacy of bloodlines. Each bloodline caries a different trait—ours just happens to be strength—and those who had physical powers went against the others, who had more mystic abilities. There had always been tension between the two factions, but it had taken many centuries for it to escalate from the occasional bar fight into a total war. Our side won, and there was to be a complete reform of the Vampire Court, one that would prevent future conflicts, with Aoiro at its head. But then an ally turned traitor made himself known, and he took over, putting through a completely different reform—he had turned the hierarchy into a militaristic dictatorship."

"Treize…" Duo murmured, frowning. He picked up the book, turning to the table of contents. He apparently found something, quickly flipping to a page near the end of the book. "And here we have it! Lookit, this chapter is called 'A False Rise to Power'. Heero, I think we finally found it!" Duo looked up at me, grinning—his perfect fangs were visible. He handed me the book, and I quickly scanned over the faded print.

I felt a smile creeping across my lips—this was it. This was all the proof I needed. "I knew it. Treize did take control unfairly. It says here that he put together a rather intricate plan to take down Aoiro before he truly received his title as leader. He got several of his followers to spread rumors that Aoiro planned to abdicate, and pass the throne on to Treize, his 'most trusted ally,' instead of the next in his line: which would be me. Then he set up a false duel, and all the witnesses were in on what he was doing. They lied about the duel and who supposedly won. The day before the supposed duel, Treize himself snuck into Aoiro's quarters, and killed him in his sleep—a silver dagger straight into his heart. It says 'And with that, the strongest vampire known died, leaving a much lesser man in his place.'"

"Wow… that guy really wanted power…" Duo motioned for me to hand him the book, and I did, "I wonder if this is a reliable source though. It sounds like it, but I wanna be sure." Duo turned to the back of the book, where there was a short paragraph about the author. "Huh, it says she's Treize's blood cousin, from when they were human, and she remained loyal to him even after she was changed by a rival line… and then during the war, she left the fighting, and wrote this book from a pacifist view." Duo paused, looking up at me from the book, "It sounds believable."

I nodded, "It does. And that means we finally have the proof we need. I have no idea how I'll do it, but I'll restore power and pride to Aoiro's line," _or die trying. _I rose to my feet, putting a hand on Duo's shoulder, "Thank you for finding that book, Duo."

Duo smirked, dropping the book onto the desk, "Just consider us even. You let me help you, and I do. No more debt." He laughed, and I pulled him into my arms.

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**yeah i didnt like this chapter -_- i hope it didnt completely ruin the fic. i was originally gonna have a scene where duo really tried to break his submission to heero, like taking the role reversal to the extreme, but after their argument, i just couldnt do it. **

**well, feel free to flame me for this XP i'll be back in a day or two with what i hope will be the awesome ch7.**


	7. Catch 22

**what's this? two chapters in one day? you got that right! this one is really short, but i had to end it where i did. it was a natural break, that only cutting off the chapter would suffice for. heh XD**

**so this is hopefully better than the last chapter. i only read over it quickly, so there might be typos, but tis all good. and i'm betting that ch8 is gonna be pretty long XD  
**

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Bloodstained Devotion

Chapter 7

Catch 22

I could feel my strength returning, but it wasn't coming back nearly fast enough. Between feeding often and training a lot, I was gradually regaining my lost stamina. I still couldn't kill when feeding, but I was getting closer. Every time I fed, I was able to ignore the repulsive taste a bit longer than the time before. Duo didn't say anything, but he was clearly glad to see that my skin wasn't so pallid and deathlike anymore—a sure sign that I had been feeding well.

It was about three days since Duo found that book, and now that we weren't spending any more time in the study, all there was to do was train. Time ceased to matter in the dim confines of the basement's arena. Duo and I only left every several hours or so to feed, and we even slept down there when the exhaustion was too much to handle—Duo had set up a small bed on the floor by the wall.

Finally, on the night of the fourth day, Duo and I returned upstairs to the bedroom. We took a long, soothing shower together, our bodies weary from constant exertion. Afterwards, I pulled on a soft t-shirt and pair of sweatpants. I would've worn a tank top, but the scars on my chest and shoulders would be visible if I did so... it wasn't really that I was self conscious of them, but more that the sight of the many rough marks brought back too many bad memories from the war. And that was the last thing I wanted.

Duo stretched towards the ceiling, his arms up and his back arched slightly. "Ahhh I'm hungry… I'm gonna go feed. I'll be back in a bit, okay Heero?" he announced with a smirk.

"Alright. I'll be here," I told him with a nod. Duo smiled at me, and then he was gone. I sat down on the bed, gazing at the sliver of silvery moonlight streaming in from below the curtain of the window by the bed. I stood up, taking a few steps to the window and pulling open the heavy curtains. The pale moonlight was cool and harmless as it danced over my slightly flushed skin. I had fed not long ago. I gazed out into the dim shadows that were my mansion's grounds. I could see the looming figure that was the large tree in the garden, off to the far right. Directly in front of my window, however, was an expansion of grass, and then the wall of forest. I found my mind drifting back to the time that I had seen that mysterious vampire disappear into the woods—that had probably been Noin, since it had only been a few days later that she had attacked me, and nearly killed Duo… I shuddered at the memory of how broken he had been as I had held him in my arms, pleading for him to live.

With a sigh, I remembered that I had left my knife downstairs in the basement arena. I should probably go get it… I stepped out of the bedroom, leaving the door open halfway as I padded down the hall towards the stairs. As I made my way to the basement, I wondered how long it was going to be until one of Treize's minions returned. Duo and I planned to ambush the Vampire Court as soon as I was back at full strength, but we needed to always be ready for an attack on our own territory. As I pulled my knife out of the mannequin I had left it in, I thought about how much stronger I was now, than I had been during the fight that had forced me to change Duo. I was still weak, compared to my strength level when I first met Duo, but I had definitely improved. I was getting closer to being able to kill again, so as soon as I could, my power would rapidly return to what it had been—I was anxious for that to happen.

I held the silver knife loosely at my side as I made my way back upstairs to the bedroom. When I reached the second floor, however, a strong feeling of dread overcame me. That very same sense was drawing me towards my bedroom, at the end of the hall. Slowly, warily, I made my way down the corridor. I raised my knife, knowing that whatever I was about to find wasn't going to be something pleasant. Cautiously, I pushed the bedroom door open all the way and stepped into the room.

My instincts instantly started screaming for me to turn around, and I did so, just in time to dodge back and avoid a slash from a long silver knife. I stumbled back several steps, my balance lost, before I fell flat onto the bed. I quickly rolled to the side, off the bed and rising to my feet. I recognized the vampire before me instantly—I had fought him many years ago during the Blood Wars… His name was Zechs Merquise. He had been an even match for me then, back during the war, and neither of us had been able to land the final blow. He had been a good seventy years older than me, and I had been a young fledgling—the difference in potential had been clear. But I was weak now, and I couldn't fight for very long… and there was no doubt in my mind that he had grown substantially stronger since we last met. I grimly acknowledged the fact that, as long as I was fighting alone, defeat was inevitable.

"What the hell are _you_ here for, Zechs?" I demanded, taking a step back as he got a few paces closer, so that he was standing directly in front of me. I grimaced when I took note of his military uniform—the same general style as Noin's—I had already known he was here on Treize's behalf, but his attire just seemed to intensify that notion.

Zechs smirked evilly; the cruel expression seemed to fit well with his pale blue eyes and long, whitish blonde hair, "For the same reasons you think I am."

"So I can kill you, once and for all?" I mocked, even though it wasn't true. I kept my knife at the ready, an angry expression on my face. My frown only deepened when he took in my appearance.

"Tsk. And to think, after all this time, you've only made a slight change to your wardrobe. From a tank top and spandex, to a t-shirt and sweats," he chuckled coldly, but then continued with a darker tone. "Regardless, I still have my reasons for being here. And no, I do not intend to let you kill me. You've done more than enough killing, now haven't you?"

It was my turn to smirk this time, catching on to what he was implying, "She deserved it; as would any vampire who enters my home without permission. And to think someone infatuated with _you_, of all people, would know better than to mess with me." With that, I launched myself at Zechs, ready to attack.

But he saw it coming, and leapt back. "Don't you dare mock the dead, Heero Yuy!" he yelled, putting up his knife to block the swipe of my knife. But that wasn't where I was aiming, and I managed a shallow slice in his forearm, near his wrist.

"I've never listened to you before—what makes you think I'll start now?" I countered, dodging as he hissed and tried to stab me.

Zechs pushed himself forward, slashing his knife at me as I landed awkwardly from my dodge. The silver stung like white-hot fire as it made a shallow cut below my collarbone, tearing my shirt. "Ant that's why I know you'd never come with me quietly," he growled solemnly, "That's why I'm going to knock you out cold and drag you with me."

So he was aiming to capture me? Something told me that he knew I wouldn't be able to kill him. Either he was simply too confident in his own abilities, or he knew that I wasn't at top strength right now. Either way, it just didn't feel like he was giving it his all. I would've called for Duo's help through our telepathic link, but I couldn't find the mental focus in the thick of battle. I'd just have to hold my ground until he returned… he should be back soon. I didn't say anything, instead diving forward and trying to kick Zechs' legs out from under him. My attempt failed, and I found myself within only inches of the blade of his knife. I hurriedly scrambled back, before pulling myself to my feet and backing further away. Had my heart been able to do so, it would've been pounding with adrenaline, fear, panic, and the need to survive. I could feel my strength fading, however and I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up this constant dodging to and fro for much longer.

I took another step back, and I couldn't suppress the cringe when Zechs smirked. He knew I was already weakening. He knew he'd soon have me in his clutches. The persistent sting of the gash below my collarbone seemed to intensify as his gaze fell on the vampiric blood seeping from it. Without warning, Zechs launched himself at me. I tried to step back, but my back hit the tall dresser and I was cornered. I couldn't suppress the cry when his knife created a long, shallow gash across my chest—he had clearly intended for the cut to be that way.

While I was still blinded by the silver's nearly overwhelming hurt, I vaguely felt Zechs grab the front of my shirt and drag me to the floor. He had me pinned, and he sat on my chest, holding me down. My knife was gone from my hand before I could even register my current predicament. When the sting of the new gash subsided, I glared up at him, feeling completely vulnerable. I still had my claws, yes, but they wouldn't do much… they wouldn't do much, because I knew what was coming next.

"I'm sure you remember my talent, don't you, Heero? Even if it was only something you experienced in passing when we last met?" he smirked, taking his knife and stabbing it into my upper arm, all the way through, literally pinning it to the floor. He used my knife to do the same with my other arm. I was completely immobile now. I didn't care that I tensed in fear when he placed a hand on my chest, over my inanimate heart, and another over my throat. It was true that I had only experienced Zechs' 'talent' once before, but Trowa and the others had intervened before any real damage could've been done.

I knew what came next. And I silently wished that Duo wouldn't have to see me in such pain, if he got here while this was happening to me. But just the same, I desperately wanted him here, wanted him to save me.

I let out a cry, my back arching, the very moment he began. Vampires of Zechs' line had the ability to manipulate another vampire's life force, whether it was to hurt or heal, and he had just tugged at the power that sustained me. A shrill scream forced its way past my lips when I felt him _tear_ at my life force. My eyes were squinted shut, tears streaming from them as I writhed; my hands were clenched into fists where they lay at my sides. Oh god… Oh god, Duo! I cried out, again and again, helpless to stop the pain. It hurt worse than any silver I had ever come into contact with—this was probably even more painful than having your heart torn to shreds.

I felt myself fading. Zechs violently twisted my power—it felt as if it would soon snap. I could hardly voice my cries anymore. It hurt so much, and I had screamed my voice away. I knew my next screech would be silent.

But then, just as quickly as it had started, the pain was gone. My senses, other than pain, returned to me… and though it was hazy, I heard Duo crying my name in panic. He was here. He had returned. I tried to say his name, to call out to him, but I had no voice. Somehow, through the fog of the lingering hurt, I managed to tip my head back and see him. My sight was blurred, as if I was lost in some human's dream, and my ears rang as a gunshot resounded from directly above me. Nothing seemed to make sense as I saw Duo try to dodge, saw blood spray from his arm as he fell back, letting out a cry of pain, much like I had moments ago.

And then it clicked, as I watched Duo collapse and go very still, it made sense. Zechs had shot him with a silver bullet, and he had tried to dodge, but it went through his arm. Duo had never come into contact with silver before, so even if the bullet went straight through, he had no immunity to it. It knocked him out cold.

But then, the pain returned to me, and my mouth opened in a silent scream as Zechs gave one final _yank_ at the power that kept me alive. The pain was too much, and I was too weak, too exhausted, too hurt, and I had no choice but to give in. I dreaded to find where I would be when I woke…

Vampiric sleep took its hold on me, and I went limp where I lay. The blackness of night stole away my consciousness…

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**aww poor heero! haha but it had to be done... XD yay for the epic cliffhanger XD  
**

**idk when ch8 will be up, probably next year XD (next year is in two days) so yeah! happy new year everybody!  
**


	8. Capture

**gosh this chapter took forever! i'm so sorry guys! hopefully it was worth the wait :/ well anyways, enjoy XD**

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Bloodstained Devotion

Chapter 8

Capture

I awoke to find myself bound. I could feel that blood was still seeping slowly from the wound in my chest, so I knew I hadn't been out for long. My mind was hazy, and I was weak. The pain in my core was still present, but not nearly as intense as it had been. It took me a while to become aware of the state of my body... I was lying on my side, my arms pulled back and bound tightly behind me. I was too weary to even _think_ about breaking my bonds. The hard floor beneath me was cold, and my shoulder ached from being pressed into it. I figured that I had been brought back to the Vampire Court, and I had been tossed into some sort of cell, but I couldn't get my eyes to open to see if that was true… I didn't even want to see where I was now, either. I resisted the need to try to ease the pain, to curl into myself and whimper pitifully. I couldn't let myself do that…

If anything, my prominent feeling right now was not pain, but instead I was overcome by guilt. I had clearly seen Duo get shot… And despite the fact that the memory was blurred by a pained haze, the sensation left from watching it happen stuck in my mind. I hated myself for letting Duo get hurt, even though I had had no way to defend him. The expression on his face, when I had dazedly gazed up at him, had sent a long crack running through my heart. I was more worried for him than I was for myself, even if I was the one who had been beaten and captured… Duo was just a fledgling, and silver would have a much stronger effect on him right now, since he was new to the true power of its magic. In a sense, he hadn't built up an immunity to it yet. I wanted desperately to speak to him, through our telepathic link, but every time I tried, it was like talking to a steel wall, with him on the other side. He was still out cold from the effects of the silver…

I did my best to remain motionless where I lay, trying to appear as if I was still unconscious. I didn't know if anyone was watching me. Again, my thoughts began to wander—anything to keep my mind off the hurt. Was this what Duo had felt like, in a metaphorical sense, when I had first taken him? He had been held captive, and bound—not physically, but by rules and my cruelty towards him. He had been hurt, more emotionally than physically. There had been no way of escape, as if his hands had been cuffed behind him and he had been too weak to break what bound him. And I hated myself for all of it. I had been greedy, wanting to keep Duo at my side, for always. I had been blind to what I was doing to him, to my dear Duo, and he was right in saying that he wasn't himself anymore. I had stolen that away with how I had bound him to me, how I had beaten and terrorized him… Something new in my chest began to hurt, and I struggled to bite back a strangled cry of total distress.

I was about to try to reach out to Duo again when I heart the metallic clanking of a heavy door opening a little bit away from my feet—that made me realize that I was most likely in the same position as I had when they had tossed me in here whoever knows how long ago. Two sets of footsteps entered the cell, one of them—the steps sounded like more feminine high heels—stopped only a few paces from the door. The other set of steps came to stand right in front of me. A cold, heartless voice spoke up from the woman by the door, "Is he awake?" she asked, as if there'd be hell to pay if I wasn't.

"I don't think so, ma'am," said the man standing above me. I instantly recognized him as Zechs. Anger began to course through my veins at his very presence, but I remained still. I didn't move a muscle, even as he kicked me hard in the stomach. I let myself roll back somewhat with the force of the kick, but no further than I had been initially pushed.

"He may be faking," she said, and I nearly smirked at her intuition—but that would defeat the purpose of _faking_, now wouldn't it?

I heard the creak of Zechs' leather boots as he crouched on one knee beside me. "Yes, he might be." And then I felt him roughly take a handful of my short hair, and pull me up off the floor several inches. It took everything I had to not cry out, to remain 'unconscious'. "…Although it doesn't look like it. I'm afraid I got a bit carried away earlier—I might've done more damage than necessary." Yeah. He did unnecessary damage, alright. Duo got hurt, when I should've never even let him get involved in all this. Zechs released his grip on my hair, and I let my head loll limply as he pushed me over so that I was flat on my back.

Even more so now, I felt like I was experiencing Duo's own past predicament. This reminded me strongly of when I had used my 'cruel side' as means to ensure that Duo remained submissive. I could only hope that, for his sake, how I was feeling now was worse than any pain I had ever caused Duo.

Finally, I heard Zechs rise and step away, back towards the door. He left, and the woman followed a moment after. Before the door closed however, I heard her mutter, "His Excellency will not be pleased with this delay, but there is nothing we can do." And then they were gone. I was alone, left to wallow in my pain and guilt yet again.

I was exhausted, and the need for blood was making me feel uneasy. The hurt was intense, especially with the added bonus of being kicked in the gut. I tried to wait for it to subside, but it wouldn't. With a shaky breath, I did my best to get through to Duo again. It worked, he was conscious, and I felt myself falling into the depths of his mind, as if I had become him. I didn't have to worry about moving like he was this time, however—there was no way I could even lift my head in my current state.

With that, I lost myself, becoming one with Duo's mind…

. . .

He cried my name when he awoke.

He bolted upright, eyes wide and looking around for me, but I was long since gone. Hands were grabbing at him then, urging him to lie back down.

"It's okay, Duo. Just keep still for now," said a voice that both Duo and I recognized. He turned his head, seeing a figure from his past, from when he was still human. It was Sally, and she was kneeling beside him, holding his wounded arm. She appeared to know a think or two about vampiric medicine, because she was tending to the new scar on his arm, left by the silver bullet. Duo had healed very quickly. Sally gave him a small bit of medicine after a few moments, "Here, this'll help ease the silver's magic." Duo swallowed the fowl-tasting liquid, clearly too dazed to question it.

After a minute or so, Quatre came into Duo's line of vision. I was glad to see him. "How do you feel?" he asked, kind as always.

It felt odd, to say the least, to have thoughts that were but also weren't my own. I felt myself speaking them, but in Duo's voice. He and I, or maybe just he, murmured a quiet, slurred, "I dunno…" He winced, and I could feel the sudden sting in his arm. When Duo opened his eyes again, both Trowa and Wufei had entered the scene. They helped him to sit up, and Quatre put a hand on Duo's shoulder. "Where's… Heero?" Duo muttered, his eyes locked on the spot of floor that was stained with my vampiric blood. My silver knife was lying next to one of the bloody stains—Zechs hadn't taken it.

"We don't know… I suddenly was overcome with the feeling that Heero was in danger, but it was too late when we got here," explained Quatre. That's right, those of Quatre's line had the ability to feel the intense emotions of those close to them. He had no doubt sensed my fear, known that something had gone horribly wrong… and he hurried to find me, only to see that I was gone, and Duo was lying unconscious.

It was silent for several moments, as Duo mulled over where I had gone. But then he tried to rise, and both Trowa and Wufei helped him not to stagger. Duo was weak, and I could clearly feel his daze. He stumbled over to where I had fallen, to where Zechs had pinned me in his final attack. There were two cuts in the floor where he had stabbed his and my knives through my arms. Duo fell to his knees and took my silver knife into his hands. He murmured my name, and I let myself pull away from Duo's consciousness, so that I could speak to him now.

I was growing weaker now, and I knew I couldn't hold onto Duo's mind for much longer. I just had to say what needed to be said, and then let myself rest. I had no chance of feeding now, so I had to conserve my strength…

"_Duo…"_ I thought to him, my tone more strained than I had expected.

I was still vaguely connected to Duo's mind and actions, and I felt him startle as my voice echoed in his mind. _"Heero? Is that you? Where are you?"_ he asked, in a small panic.

"_Yes… are you okay, Duo?"_ I asked, feeling myself beginning to fade. As I fell back to myself, the pain returned, and I couldn't stay with Duo for much longer.

"_I… I'm fine… But what about you? Where are you, Heero?"_ he sounded scared, scared for me.

"_I'm somewhere in the Vampire Court… a dungeon cell…" _Again, I struggled to refrain from curling into myself—an aftershock of pain surged through my core, and I lost Duo for a moment. I uttered a mental groan, _"Uhhh… Duo I can't stay… much longer… I… I love you…"_

"_What? Heero! No, please stay—"_ was all I managed to hear before I was forced to fall away.

Suddenly, I found myself back on the cold floor of the cell, sore and in pain. I did my best not to move, knowing I might give myself away, given someone was here, but also as a way to try and suppress the pain. It wasn't long before I heard the door creak open again, and those same high heels clicked on the cement of the floor. She stepped up to stand right before me, and I felt the narrow heel of her boot press into my chest, the end of the shoe stepping on the knife wound in my arm. "I know you're awake, Yuy," she said from above me, before pressing her foot harder into me. I forced myself to keep still, silently telling myself that the pain was nothing… that as long as I kept up the act, she'd soon leave.

I thought I was right when she took away her boot, but then I was unable to stop the wince then her heel dug into the gash across my chest—it still hadn't healed. I had given myself away, and I didn't bother to try to cover it up. I forced open my eyes, my sight bleary as I struggled to make sense of my surroundings through the pained haze. Everything was so blurry, but I managed to stare up at her. The first thing that came into focus was a blood red military uniform. Then I saw the glint of her glasses in the low light—I could not see her eyes as she glared down at me. But then her hateful brown gaze game into view as she crouched down, grabbing me by the collar and pulling me up so that we were staring eye to eye.

"Who are you," I spat, struggling to keep my voice even, despite the pain. I glared back at her just as angrily, refusing to give in to her.

"I'm Lady Une," she smirked, rising to her full height, and pulling me with her… I struggled to get my feet underneath me, but my body refused to cooperate. I staggered, and to my complete humiliation, nearly fell into Une. She pushed me back, spinning me around and grabbing at my cuffs. I felt dazed, dizzy as she pushed me out of the cell, throwing me into a group of guards that had been waiting outside the door. They caught me, holding me up and leading me out of the dungeon. I kept my head bent, too exhausted and embarrassed to lift my gaze. Silently, I pleaded that this would soon end, that I'd be back with Duo soon, and everything would be okay. But deep down, I knew that I'd have to survive the torturous hell before then, that I'd have to somehow keep from breaking. After what seemed like hours of walking in mindless circles, I was roughly shoved to my knees. A perfect stone floor came into focus below me, as I gazed down at the floor.

I didn't have the strength to struggle as my arms were grabbed roughly, pulled back in their bonds. I felt them fasten a heavy chain to the cuffs, holding me, a prisoner, to the spot I knelt in. I didn't look up as I heard heavy footsteps making their way towards me. I let my eyes slide closed, trying to tune out the voices speaking around me. There was one I recognized all too well… a voice I despised.

"And to think, after all these years of prosperity for the vampiric world, this is what has become of him." It was Treize. Talking about me. I didn't care that I was hanging my head in shame, didn't care that I appeared weak and vulnerable, my chest exposed, making my heart an easy target. It hurt too much to care.

"I am afraid so, Treize, sir. He didn't put up much of a fight when I came for him," replied none other than Zechs.

After a moment, I felt a cold blade under my chin. I could instantly feel the magic, feel the sting of the silver. The blade pressed up, lifting my head, and I saw that Treize was standing before me, wielding an intricate sword forged of pure silver. I glared at him, despite the fact that with one easy stroke of that sword, he could put an end to me here and now. I said nothing, just continued my hateful stare. Treize smirked at me. "Good to see you again, Heero. Have you been well?" he asked, mockingly.

I resisted the urge to hiss and bare my fangs.

Treize continued to smile cruelly, and he pressed the end of his sword forward a bit, so that the pointed tip was up against my throat. The proximity alone stung, adding onto the rest of my hurt. "I assume you know why you're here," he grinned, his pristine white fangs visible. I could smell human blood on him, and I did not want to know how many innocent humans he had just drained dry—even the thought of that made me sick.

I just continued to glare, silent. Not only did I not trust my voice to be even, but I did not want to ever have to say anything more than "I'll kill you" to this guy. I just kept my head up, my chin off of the sword, trying to avoid the silver's sting as much as possible. I wanted to escape this, wanted to be with Duo, but I knew I couldn't. My focus had to stay here… I couldn't leave in my current state.

Treize took a step to the side, his sword staying below my chin, but turning so that the tip was no longer at my throat. A slight relief. "It truly does surprise me to see you in such a tattered state, Heero. Especially after how hard you fought during the wars, without taking more than a scratch," he paused. "It pains me to see how your strength has withered," he continued with that sickening, mocking tone, and I felt my arms twitch against their bonds. He was trying to provoke me, to get me angry and I had to fight it! One slip up, and I would be dead. I had to stay cool and calm, endure until I was tossed back into my cell, endure until my wounds finally healed and I could escape. I could do it… I just had to think about Duo… and this would be nothing.

"First of all, Heero there is something I must speak to you about." I followed him warily with my glare. "One of my subordinates, whom I sent to deliver you a message; I'm afraid she's gone missing. Would you have had anything to do with her sudden disappearance?" he paused for a moment, waiting for my answer. "Go on," he urged, "Speak. The truth is safe with me." I didn't intend to tell him the truth. I didn't intend to tell him anything at all.

The cold of the blade was back against my chin, pointing into my throat as he waited for my answer. I felt it begin to draw blood. I felt his frustration begin to rise. "Tell me," he started, his voice loud and echoing, "What has become of that human that accompanied you to the bar, some two weeks ago?" He knew. He knew about Duo, all along!

I let myself smirk, cruelly glaring into his eyes, "He's dead."

Treize faked a sympathetic tone, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear—"

But I cut him off, letting the anger surge through my tone, "He's not human anymore, you dirty old leech!" Treize did his best to hide his shock with a frown, but I saw it. "He's become the strongest fledgling I ever met," I closed my eyes, feigning a nonchalant tone, "I guess I have you to thank, after all, since you were the one who sent Noin to do your dirty work." Forcibly, I calmed myself. I had to keep my temper under control… Talking about Duo made me miss him more, and I had to do everything in my power to live until I could see him again.

Treize grinned, and evil expression that sent a chill down my spine. "I'm glad to hear that. Dear Aoiro would not be proud to find that his last direct fledgling was having an affair with a… _human_." He emphasized the last word, as if it disgusted him to say it, to think it, to try to comprehend the love I feel towards Duo.

Snap out of it! Focus! My mind was hazy, and it was hard to direct my attention to that which was in front of me, despite the imminent threat. "Well, now that we have that matter covered, what do you say we move on to another topic?" he smirked, tapping the blade of the sword lightly against my chin. "I already know why you're here, so why don't you clarify for our wonderful guests," he gestured to Une and Zechs, who were standing off to the side, "Tell them of the lies you've been chasing after for nearly two centuries."

Silence fell as he waited for my answer, but I kept my mouth closed. I was not going to speak; I was not going to do as he ordered me. "It appears you need some motivation to speak…" he declared calmly, and the sword was gone from under my chin. But it returned in less than a moment, slicing about an inch deep into my shoulder.

I bit back the agonized cry that was at my lips, did my best to not even wince. It hurt, but I could handle it. This was nothing. Think of Duo. This pain is nothing. It took only moments for the hurt to begin to subside, and my gaze cleared. I was still staring up at Treize, angry. His sword had left the wound in my shoulder, and now the tip of it was poised over my heart. I just glared daggers, not willing to speak, not caring about the pain that was to come. I knew he wouldn't kill me, not yet at least. He'd rather humiliate me completely first, prove me wrong, and make me beg to be spared.

"Go on, Heero. You know a subject must always listen to his king, do you not?" he urged in that sickening tone again, smirking. He pressed the blade a little harder against my chest.

I would've spat in his face, told him he was not a king, but I didn't. I remained silent. My glare was enough though, and after a few electrified moments, Treize let his sword cut a shallow gash in my side. I let my head fall, biting my lip against the hurt. "Fine, since you're obviously not in the mood for talking, I'll tell them for you." As if they didn't already know, "Heero claims that, as the head of Aoiro's line, _he_ is the rightful leader of this Vampire Court! He believes that I took power unfairly, that I killed Aoiro and claimed what was rightfully his!" I kept my gaze steady as Treize placed his blade under my chin again, forcing me to look up. He leaned closer and grinned at me coldly, his voice low and laced with evil, "And he is absolutely right."

I couldn't stop my eyes from going wide. I knew it! The anger erupted then, my overtaxed nerves unable to hold back the rage any longer. I spat in Treize's face, and began to struggle against my bonds. My body screamed and my strength took a major hit from the sudden exertion, but I didn't care. I wanted out. If I could just break these bonds, free myself from them completely, I would be out of here with just a thought. Though I knew I'd never get far—I was too weak for that… but at least I could hide.

My struggles came to a very abrupt end, however, as I felt the excruciating sting of Treize's pure silver sword stab into my leg. It was so sudden, and I had no chance to prepare myself—I couldn't hold back the pained cry. He pulled it out only a moment later, and I fell over onto the cold stone floor, giving in and curling into myself. It hurt so much… and I… I just wanted Duo. I wanted to get out of here, so we could be together with no more problems. The closer I got to the power I had sought, the less I desired it. I just wanted everything to go back to the way it was, with Duo and I happy and safe together.

A heavy boot pushed me over onto my back, and I felt nearly as helpless as I had when I had been tied up in the sunlight for days on end. I heard Treize speak from several feet above me, "Lady Une if you would be so kind." And then, the now familiar click of her high heeled boots approached me on the stone floor. I let my eyes slide open then, dazedly, only to see her handing Treize a glinting knife… but its shine was odd. It wasn't silver. Steel, rather. And tarnished with use, at that.

I closed my eyes before they could gaze down at me, and I soon felt myself being hoisted up by two guards—their grips were too rough and inexperienced to be Une or Zechs. Treize spoke from directly in front of me—I let my head hang, eyes closed.

"Heero," was all he said for several moments. Silence reigned until I felt the cold tip of the steel knife running over my chest, "I'm sure you know I have no intention of killing you. Rather, I'd like to meet this young fledgling of yours. After what my sources have told me, I know he'd make a very loyal subordinate, the complete opposite of yourself."

I couldn't help it. My eyes flew open in a rage-filled glare as I yelled, "Duo is MINE!" my outburst echoed within the stony walls, and I was writhing against the guards holding me still. I cried out, feeling myself weakening as I tried to break free. This was it. I was already fighting with my guilt, and Treize's desire for Duo had sent me over the edge. I didn't care that I was using up the last shreds of my strength in my futile struggle, didn't care that I probably wouldn't even have the energy to lift my head once this was through.

But then, just like before, my struggles were abruptly ended with the shock of pain. This time, though, it was the steel knife—Treize had jammed it into my stomach, much like Duo had when I had gone to take him home with me, so long ago. But this time was different from then. I was weak, and therefore even the relatively harmless steel set my nerves ablaze with pain. I went very still, forcing myself to bite back the cry at my lips. Was it too late to salvage my dignity?

With a grimace, I knew what came next. For the second time in the past twenty four hours, I knew what sort of pain that was about to overcome me. At least this time, it'd heal…

Treize pulled out the knife, only to cut a long gash across my chest with it. I struggled not to writhe in pain.

. . .

Everything came crashing to a halt as they tossed me into my cell, and I landed on the cold, hard floor. I was weak, and they surely had nothing to fear as one of them stepped into the cell; I faintly heard the rattle of a chain, before it was attached to my cuffs. As if I actually had the strength to move in this condition…

And with that, they left. Silence fell. Darkness reigned. The quiet black pulled me under, and my wounds began to heal…

. . .

I forgot where I was when I awoke, as strange as that was. I was so numb, that even the cold floor below me had faded into nothingness. Blearily, I tried to move my arms, but found that they were tightly bound… and then the pain returned.

I struggled not to cry out, everything coming back in one fell swoop. I cussed silently. What kind of mess had I gotten myself into? But ohh… the pain was immobilizing. How was I supposed to get out of here? Sure, the countless wounds across my chest and arms and shoulders that had been inflicted with that steel knife, had healed by now, but I was so weak that all I could feel was the sting of the silver. The hurt caused by the cut in my leg, in my shoulder, and the few other new ones from before, was all my senses could take in. The agony blocked all else.

Time passed; minutes, hours, maybe even days for all I knew, but eventually the pain began to subside. I wasn't aware that I had blacked out again. My eyesight came into focus, and I found that my cell was pitch dark with night. It was cold, and my wounds were still far from healed. I tried to force myself to relax, to ease the tension in my strained muscles, but I was unable to.

I squinted shut my eyes, concentrating on the part of my mind that was linked with Duo's. I was weaker than I had thought, though, and a surge of pain nearly sent me back into the depths. _"Duo… Du…o…"_ was all I could force out. I hoped he heard me…

"_Heero? What's wrong? Are you hurt? I've been trying to get through to you, but I couldn't…" _he thought to me in a rush, slightly panicked. It was hard for me to register his words.

I felt myself fading again. I was in desperate need of blood, and the silver's magic was still much too strong. _"It hurts... Duo... I... I can't..."_ my thoughts lost coherence, and my link with Duo's mind was cut off. My body gave a violent shiver against the cold, and the pain from the sudden movement sent me spiraling. Vampiric sleep took its hold once again, and night fell in my mind…

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**so i tried to make it not too gory, so hopefully that worked. i liked the little bit where treize was talkin about duo, and heero basically declares his possession of duo XD MINE.**

**well i'll try to get ch9 done soon... and this fic is almost over as well. only a few more chapters. school starts thursday, so after ch 9, updates might take a little longer. sorry guys... :/  
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	9. Rescue

**gah! i'm so sorry for the wait! i didnt forget about you guys! please dont kill me *cowers* ...school started again last thursday, and i no longer have more than a few hours of free time... and even less of that time that i can spend writing. you guys know how it is :/**

**anyways, this chapter is okay. more blood and gore, and if the chapter title doesnt spoil it for you, you're in for a surprise. overall, i'm not too happy with it, simply because of the overwhelmed state of mind i've been in this past week. **

**okay, enough about that. enjoy the chapter... oh and btw, this chapter ends on the bottom of page 70 of the document. this is officially my longest fic so far!  
**

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Bloodstained Devotion

Chapter 9

Rescue

The bleary floor of the dungeon cell came into view, as I slowly rose from the depths of vampiric unconsciousness. What seemed like many moments passed before I became lucid enough to register what had woken me. Duo's voice echoed loudly in my mind, his tone laced with panic and distress. _"Heero? Please... Wake up, Heero. Can you hear me? Heero?"_

His voice only faintly got through to my wavering consciousness, however. The pain was beginning to return, and I could hardly make sense of my own thoughts, much less Duo's. I was in desperate need of blood, anything to sate the hunger and dilute the magic of the silver burning through my veins. _"Heero...?" _his voice echoed hollowly through my mind again, and I suddenly became aware of the fact that it was because he had been thinking at me so persistently, that I had woken up.

"_I'm here… Duo…"_ I thought back, my tone of thought rather quiet and weak.

His voice sounded so relieved, _"Thank god, Heero… I've been trying to get through to you, but you wouldn't wake up… I thought…"_ his voice faded, but it was obvious what he was thinking.

"_I'm okay, Duo," _I told him, though in my current state, it was a complete lie. _"…It's just the silver… the magic is almost too strong…"_ I felt surprisingly lucid, and the stinging pain was almost ignorable—it was far past bearable, but it had been a lot worse earlier.

"_It'll wear off soon, right? You were unconscious for like five hours, just now…"_

Only that long? Somehow, it seemed like I had been lost to the depths for at least a whole day… _"It should… but I need to feed—and I think there's more silver than my body can handle right now…"_

"_Oh…"_ Duo sighed. There was a pause, _"Well I'm coming to rescue you, Heero."_

That surprised me. Duo? Coming to my rescue? I knew he was strong, but compared to the likes of Treize and Zechs, he was just an inexperienced fledgling! _"Duo? No, you can't… please… What if they catch you? Duo, it's not safe for you to come here…"_ I tried to plead with him, even though I desperately wanted out of here. I wasn't strong enough to escape on my own, but I certainly didn't want to risk Duo's capture either… Treize would hurt him, try to turn him into his subordinate.

"_I don't care that it's not safe. You're hurt, and I need to save your life now…"_ Duo's tone was convincing, and I knew his mind was made up. It almost scared me though, how he'd clearly risk his own life to save mine, even though I had taken him away from the rest of the world, and put an end to his humanity… I was his captor, and yet he loved me dearly. _"Where are you now? Are you back in that cell?"_

"_Yes…"_ I thought quietly, a little bit distracted. My wounds twitched with hurt.

"_Okay. I'm gonna be there soon. Can you hold on for another hour or so? Like try to stay awake?"_ he asked, his tone a little scared, but also hopeful.

"_I'll try,"_ was all I thought in reply. I was too caught up in the telepathic link to hear the heavy door unlock and slam open.

"_Mkay. I love you—"_ and then he was gone. My thoughts were cut off, forced blank, as a rough hand grabbed me around the throat. I was hoisted up, and slammed into the wall—my feet dangled not far above the floor, because of the chain attached to my cuffs. I didn't even bother tying to hide the fact that I was awake, and I forced open my eyes to see Zechs glaring at me in hate. His hand tightened around my throat, so hard that my windpipe collapsed. Had I been human, I would be suffocating, but that wasn't the case. Nonetheless, I coughed feebly, too weak to struggle and break free of his grasp.

"Damn you, Heero," he hissed, his face mere inches from mine. I could smell the blood on his breath, and it made me feel sick, just as much as it reminded me of my desperate need for the crimson liquid. I squinted shut my eyes in helpless pain when I felt Zechs' hand stab into my stomach, right below my ribs. "This is for Noin!" he snarled, as I felt his claws wrap around one of my ribs. His hand disappeared from my throat, and he tossed me to the floor, snapping my rib in the process. I bit back the agonized cry that was at my lips. I couldn't take much more of this torture…

Slowly, as I lay there on the floor, half lost to the pained haze, I felt my windpipe begin to heal. The new wound in my stomach, as well as the broken rib, remained as they were, however. I was unprepared for the strong kick that sent me sprawling over onto my back, and I couldn't help but wince as Zechs' heavy boot pressed against my stomach, jabbing into the wound. The pain was unbearable, and I began to wonder how I had survived so long already. I didn't feel like myself anymore, and I just wanted this to end. I wanted to get out of here… I wanted to see Duo again. I missed the sweet taste of his blood, even though he was no longer human.

I tried to distract myself with those thoughts as the pain continued to increase, but it was a useless attempt. Zechs' rage filled voice rent through my consciousness, "Fuck you, Heero! I'll never forgive you for what you did to Noin!" He kicked me in the chest, hard, and I felt yet another rib snap—I could feel the metal in his steel toed boots. The broken splinter of a bone was dangerously close to my dead heart…

Blood pooled at my lips, and I tried to roll away from the pain. I coughed pitifully. Why was this happening? Why was I so weak? My wounds couldn't even heal, I was so powerless. I felt as if I had lost myself somewhere in the past several months, as if my strength had faded as my love for Duo grew stronger. Darkness abruptly took its hold when Zechs' boot collided with the side of my head. White sparks flashed across my vision, blurring it away in less than a second. The pain consumed me, and I lost consciousness—I surely wouldn't wake until the new crack in my skull had healed…

. . .

"Heero… Heero! C'mon, wake up! You can't be dead!" Duo's hushed, panicked voice brought me back from the depths. I could feel him shaking my shoulder, despite the pounding headache at the side of my skull.

It hurt to think, to try to make any attempts at a coherent reply… or any sort of reply, for that matter. I vaguely became aware of the hot drops of wet on my cheek—was… was that… Duo's _tears_? Was he crying? My throat seared—no doubt because of my previously crushed windpipe—as I forced out a low moan. Duo made a quiet noise of surprise and relief.

"Heero? Can you open your eyes?" he whispered.

I did my best to do as he asked, forcing my eyes to flutter open. The bleary sight of Duo's beautiful face came into view, and I felt a pitiful, dazed smile twitch at the corners of my mouth.

His gaze was almost sorrowful as he leaned in to place a gentle kiss on my dry and bloodied lips. "I'm so glad," he murmured, his lips brushing against mine, "I thought for sure I had been too late, but you're still alive."

My eyesight began to blur again, but I forced myself to stay in the waking world. The pain in my head was slowly lessening. The crack in my skull surely had nearly completely healed by now, or I wouldn't be conscious right now… How long had Duo been trying to rouse me?

"Let's get you home," Duo muttered, his gentle hand on my shoulder.

A thought came to me then, however, and I struggled with all I had to speak, "No… Duo… we can't go… h-home… Treize surely has it… surrounded by… now—" I choked on my words, fighting to bite back the coughing fit that was tickling at my aching throat.

Duo waited till it passed before he spoke to me again, "I know, Heero. We managed to get out of there just as the first of his soldiers arrived. I'm taking you to Trowa and Quatre's place… I'm sure you know that they were there when I woke up, earlier."

I could only manage a small nod. I was glad that Duo had gotten out of our mansion safely, and that the others were willing to help. They no doubt approved of my turning him into a vampire. After a few moments, Duo gently slipped his arm under my back, lifting me up. The chains attached to my cuffs rattled, and it was a relief to have the pressure removed from my hands where they were trapped behind me. Duo tried to unhook the chain, remove the bulky cuffs, but he was unsuccessful—the heavy chain continued to clank loudly.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing in there?" came a cruel voice from just outside the cell. Not a moment later, the door slammed open and two angry looking vampires stepped into the tiny room. They were wearing those fancy military uniforms—Treize's soldiers. They were guarding my cell…

Duo tensed against me, his arms holding me tightly, protectively. But that was only for a moment, before he gently laid me down and rose to his feet, drawing his knife and holding it up at the ready. He was going to fight… But how would he win? Pain blurred my vision for a moment—my consciousness was beginning to fade again—and I missed the first strike of the battle. I stared up at Duo—he seemed fine. A glance at one of the other vampires told me that Duo was the one to have made the initial attack; one of them was sporting a shallow gash on his arm.

The second of the vampires hissed at Duo, "Dammit, who the hell are you?"

Duo bared his fangs in reply, "I'm Duo Maxwell, if you must know. But they used to call me Shinigami, when I was human!" And then Duo launched himself at them, with speed I had never expected from such a young fledgling… from someone who had seemed so submissive and fragile not all that long ago. He stabbed his knife into the stomach of the first vampire, his other hand going over the guard's mouth, as to muffle the cry of pain. He pushed him down to the floor, only to rise a moment later. Duo turned on the other vampire, but before he could attack, I managed to speak.

"Duo! …Go for their hearts!" I ground out, my voice scratchy and hoarse. I lost awareness for several more moments after, coming back to myself only to find that the guard that I had just seen Duo shove to the floor, was now dead and very still. It truly surprised me, to see how well he was handling this fight. That was, until I heard Duo let out a pained gasp and saw him stagger back towards where I as lying on the floor.

I looked up, suddenly terrified, to see Duo clutching his stomach—there was blood on the other vampire's knife. Duo dropped down onto one knee, his head bowed in obvious hurt. Fear coursed through what was left of the vampiric blood in my veins, but I felt so helpless… there was nothing I could do to help him… "Duo…" I rasped after a few moments, my voice pained and heavy with worry. He looked back at me then, smirking as if to say he wasn't even hurt at all.

Duo leapt to his feet then, his left hand stained with his thick blood. He forced himself forward, slamming his bloodied palm into the face of the second vampire, blinding him with the dark crimson liquid. He pushed the vampire back into the wall, something I would've thought impossible for someone of his small stature, and shoved his knife into the vampire's chest. I heard the muffled cry.

Duo gave a violent twist of his knife, and the body before him shuddered and stiffened, before going still and slumping to the floor. He turned to me then, falling to his knees beside where I lay. I felt my eyes widen at the sight of the shallow gash in his stomach; there was a clean cut in his black tank top—he was still wearing the same clothes that he had been when I had been captured. I would've reached out to him, pulled him into my arms, had they not been bound behind my back. "I'm okay," he assured me, but it couldn't possibly be true, right? Even if the wound itself wasn't bothering him, the silver surely was. I knew it was. Duo's eyes had lost their usual violet glimmer; the silver's magic had reduced them to a lifeless, dark amethyst.

I didn't bother speaking—there was nothing to be said. Duo gazed at me for a very brief moment, before turning, and searching the two guards for the keys to my bindings. He found them quite easily. When Duo turned back to face me, I vaguely recognized the end of an obviously suppressed wince. Blood was beginning to fully seep from his wound, now. I wanted to help him, I wanted to make the hurt stop, but how could I? I was weaker than any time before, paralyzed by pain, and I could hardly form any coherent thoughts through the silver-induced haze in my mind.

I wasn't even aware of it when Duo gently rolled me over, and removed the thick metal that bound me. It was only when I came back to myself, that I realized his hands were trembling. "Duo…" I forced out, my voice even more pained than before. His eyes met mine.

He slipped his arms under me, not yet replying, and shakily rose to his feet. He staggered slightly under my weight, and I vaguely remembered how easy it had been for me to carry him like this. "I don't think I can teleport the two of us, right now," he said, looking down at me. There was pain in his voice, but it was clear that he was trying to hide it, "So we're just gonna find a good place to hide, okay? They'll never find us."

The next several minutes passed by my consciousness in a blur. The only clear thing I remember, was the feel of Duo's blood seeping out from the wound in his stomach, which I had been pressed up against as he held me in his arms. I had long since lost the t-shirt that I had been wearing at the start of this whole ordeal, and I vaguely registered Duo's vampiric blood mingling with my own; I could feel the uncomfortable burn of the silver in his blood against my skin.

I hated this. I hated the weakness that had descended over me, that had forced me into this situation. I hated how I was too helpless to get out on my own—I hated how Duo had gotten hurt while trying to rescue me. I was starting to think that, this power I craved, simply wasn't worth the struggle. But of course, I couldn't give up now. Treize would never cease his efforts of trying to eliminate me, even if I swore to leave him alone.

I felt Duo's step falter, and the sound of upcoming vampires reached my ears. His feet nearly skidded on the stone walkway as he quickly turned and continued at a run down a side hall. The next few minutes consisted of him bolting in nearly every direction, getting us more and more lost in the maze that was the Vampire Court. I managed to open my eyes slightly, and Duo's determined expression was the first thing to come into focus. The corridor around us was nearly completely dark. All there was, was a vague reflection of a torch light several halls away. Duo's hand tightened where it held my arm.

It wasn't long before he came to an abrupt stop, however. I saw him grimace, then look around quickly, no doubt trying to find a different direction to go. But then he took a single step forward, slowly, then another, and he awkwardly reached to open a heavy door. The ancient hinges let out a hideous squeak, but I wasn't worried that there was anyone nearby to hear it. Duo quickly shut the door, and I turned my head to see that we had entered a large, empty room. There was a narrow window along the top of the far wall, sunlight leaking in from under the faded cutrains. Something told me that this room bad been unused since before Treize's time.

Duo slowly staggered to the side then, nearly dropping me, before he fell back into the wall. He sank to the floor, and I was now lying in his lap. Duo looked down at me, a sneaky grin on his face—I could see the glint of his fangs, as well as a glimmer of pain in his violet gaze. "Made it," he murmured, "We'll be safe now." Duo's eyes slid closed for the next few moments, though, and I wondered if he had lost consciousness.

"Duo..." I forced out, struggling to reach up and place my hand on his cheek. His eyes opened as he felt the familiar touch of my calloused palm.

"You okay, Heero?" he asked, his hand gently resting over mine.

I just blinked, not sure how to reply. I had gone numb to the pain, and seemed to have lost my sense of touch. I was too enveloped by the haze brought on by the silver's magic to register more than what was before me. Duo just stared at me for a moment, frowning when I didn't reply. He turned his head, and for a moment I was confused before I saw him reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small vial—the contents almost seemed to emanate a deep, reddish glow. He pulled off the cap, and helped me sit up slightly.

"Drink this," he told me, holding the vial a bit closer to my lips, "It's medicine to help get rid of the silver. Sally gave me it."

"No…" I turned my head away, forcing out the words. "You need it… more than I do…"

There were a few moments of silence. But then, "Please, Heero… you're the one that got captured and tortured, not me. It's better if you take it. I'll be fine," his voice was pleading, nearly begging me to take the medicine.

I turned my head to gaze back up at him, not speaking for a moment or two. "I'll take a little… okay? You take most of it... You need to be strong enough… to get us out of here… I—" I grimaced, a sudden twinge of pain surging through my skull. "I need you now… Duo… I need you to… be strong in… my place…"

Duo lowered his gaze, "Yeah…" When he looked up again, he helped me sit a little straighter, and held the end of the vial to my lips. I took only two small sips, before pulling away. I instantly recognized the foul taste—it was the exact same medicine that Sally had given to Duo before.

I let out a low, whimpering moan, unable to suppress it. My head fell back over Duo's arm as a sudden, numb haze overcame me. Duo obviously knew what came next, because I felt him clap his hand over my mouth, not a moment before a blinding wave of pain surged through my body, as if a fire had been set on each of my silver-inflicted wounds. My back arched, but then it passed in a moment. Somewhere, I knew that the pain had only been that intense, because of the quantity of my injuries… Vaguely, I registered the fact that the haze left by the silver had significantly faded. I felt a little bit more clearheaded.

Now, it was Duo's turn to finish off the medicine. He brought the vial to his lips, and tipped his head back, swallowing it all in one gulp. He shuddered, and the glass vial clinked lightly as his hand fell and it rolled onto the stony floor. His head fell, and he bit his lip as he held me tighter. It was obvious when the pain had passed. Duo's eyes opened for a mere moment, glimmering glassily before slipping shut again; he lost consciousness.

I stared up at him for a moment, before my eyes closed too, and I let myself rest. I didn't sleep, but I just let the medicine do its job—I could feel it lifting the silver's curse, if only a somewhat. It was a while, maybe an hour, before I opened my eyes and returned to myself. I felt noticeably better, even a bit stronger. It felt as if roughly an eighth of the silver's magic had faded; but that didn't really do much to change the fact that I was still incredibly weak, and that my body was far from recovered. It took a few moments to muster my strength, but I somehow managed to sit up in Duo's lap. I eased myself to the floor, sitting with my back against the wall, beside him. Had I been human, I would've been panting for breath at the exertion. I rubbed my wrists; the feeling of those cuffs still lingered. It felt good to be able to move freely again, to have the clarity of mind to think and see a little bit straighter. It felt as if I had been bound in that cell much longer than I had.

I gently reached to lean Duo against me, his head resting on my shoulder as he slept. I took his listless hand in mine, and just before the last shreds of the bit of strength that I had recovered faded, I turned and placed a kiss on the top of his head. I tried to stay awake after that, if even only slightly lucid, knowing that one of us had to keep watch for any danger. Duo was completely out of it, so that left me the job of keeping the both of us safe. I managed to stay conscious, staring blankly ahead at nothing. I vaguely registered the fact that the room had gradually grown dark, that the light coming in from the window across the large room, was now a sliver of pallid moonlight.

I turned to gaze at Duo—his skin looked so pale in the low light. His expression was peaceful, as if we were lying in bed together, rather than hiding in the darkness, waiting to make our escape. It wasn't until much later, when the hand I had just been holding was shaking my shoulder, that I realized I had lapsed into vampiric sleep. Duo's peaceful expression had been replaced with one of worry as he gazed at me.

I blinked open my eyes, looking up at him for a moment, before fully coming to my senses. "How do you feel?" he asked quietly.

"Better," I murmured, my voice heavy, "The silver wore off a bit… it's bearable now." I didn't tell him how the hurt was still prominent, how I was still struggling to think through the pained fog.

"Thank god…" Duo sighed in relief, leaning his head back on my shoulder. He answered before I could ask him how he was feeling, "And I'm okay now too, I think... You could've taken a lot more of that medicine, and I'd still be fine." He paused, but then gestured to his stomach, "It healed already." Vaguely, something told me that it had _just_ healed, that he was still hurting, but was trying to be strong.

Nonetheless, it was a great relief that he was okay now. I was so worried for Duo, even if he could take care of himself. Several of my own wounds finally seemed to have closed, though they were far from gone. I'd have to feed quite a bit in order to give my body the strength for an action such as healing my wounds. Not only that, but the fresh blood would dilute what was in me now, therefore lessening the effects of the silver, before it could naturally wear off. The desperate need was growing harder and harder to ignore…

A few silent moments passed, and then Duo was shakily rising to his feet. He pulled me up with him, and I felt as if my legs would buckle under my weight. I hid my weakness well though, and managed to stand up straight beside him. "I think I'll be able to get us out of here now," he told me, gazing around the empty room.

As a reply, I leaned forward slightly, pressing my lips to his and kissing him as fiercely as I could manage. Duo returned it eagerly, and I could faintly taste that medicine in his mouth. His arms went up over my shoulders, as they always did, and I hugged him around the waist. It seemed like forever since we had last done this. "Thank you… Duo," I gasped in between kisses. I nearly fell into him when I broke away, but I managed to remain on my feet. He kept one arm around my shoulders, holding my hand in the other. He nodded to me, and then closed his eyes in concentration. It was obvious that he was still too weak to teleport the two of us effortlessly, but it wasn't enough to hinder him completely.

Before I knew it, we were standing in a dimly lit room in what I knew was Quatre's estate. Hands were on me suddenly—somewhat familiar, gentle hands—and I was led several steps away from Duo and eased down into a soft bed—my tense muscles throbbed as they were allowed to relax. I gazed up to see Quatre and Trowa standing beside the bed; Quatre's eyes were alight with relief, but also intense worry. Trowa turned away, just before everything blurred out of focus for a few moments. Next thing I knew, I felt someone lying down in the bed beside me—I opened my eyes, letting my head fall to the side, to see Duo curling up next to me. He rolled onto his side, taking my hand in his and squeezing it gently.

"Heero," Quatre said, and I turned my head to gaze at him. I forced myself to focus. "Trowa and I are going to go find and bring back a few humans for the two of you to feed off of, while Sally treats your injuries, okay?"

I managed a small nod, and my eyes slipped closed for a few moments. When I opened them again, Trowa and Quatre were gone, and Sally was standing next to the bed, removing the cap from another vial of that medicine. Duo spoke up from beside me, "Heero only took a little of what you sent me with. I got hurt rescuing him, so he made me take most of it."

"Okay," acknowledged Sally, before slipping her arm under my shoulders, lifting me up off the plush pillow slightly. She held the glass vial to my dry lips, and tipped it up; I downed the medicine as fast as I could, hating the taste. Not a moment after she laid me back down, Duo wrapped his arms around me, bracing me for the pain of when the drug began to run its course. This time, even though his touch eased the hurt somewhat, I couldn't suppress the cry. The pain was still blinding. I lost consciousness before it faded…

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**was it okay? i hope so. i found it hard to imply that heero was still really weak, and that the medicine duo gave him really didnt do much... but yeah, more of the other gboys XD**

**uhm, chapter 10 will be up sooner or later. depending on how that goes, it might be the last chapter, or there may be one more. i'm not sure. after this, i have one more fic i need to wrap up, that you guys will no doubt squee over, and then i get to start something totally new! i got a new idea yesterday, and i'm anxious to work on it. heero will prolly hurt me if i dont XD  
**


	10. Recovery

**dang! this chapter took forever! i'm so sorry, guys :/ but i guess it was worth the wait... its like 7k words XD **

**enjoy!  
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Bloodstained Devotion

Chapter 10

Recovery

When I came back to myself, I found that a fragment of a thought had taken hold in my mind. It was something that I had wondered about, but never found the answer to. Something that, as time went by, my curiosity towards it only seemed to grow. Why was Duo so strong, even though he was such a young fledgling? Even vampires that had been changed despite the fact that they loathed vampires with every fiber of their being, were not that powerful at his age. I wanted to know why. I wanted to know how. And most importantly, I wanted to make sure Duo had the opportunity to fully exploit his potential.

I was alone in the bed, in the room, when I finally opened my eyes, and I couldn't help but wonder, where had Duo gone? I pushed myself up on my elbows, finding that the effects of the silver had worn off, and it simply felt like I had been locked in that cell without a drop of blood for several months on end. I might as well have been, considering I would've ended up in this moment's physical state, whether or not I had met Duo and gone through that whole ordeal, or not.

With some difficulty, I managed to sit up all the way, and swing my legs over the side of the bed. I looked down to see that I had been given a fresh shirt; and when I pulled up the soft fabric, I found that my torso was covered in a layer of bandages. I wasn't sure if that was because I was still hurt, or if it was simply one more covering to hide my gruesome scars. If the former truly was the case, then I was simply numb to any and all pain that my body was experiencing right now—which was something I had deemed an aftereffect of that medicine; it would explain why I had felt a bit better, as I indeed had, after taking that small bit earlier.

I let myself gaze around the empty room, then. It was dark, and the windows were completely paneled over, as if they didn't exist. I didn't have the slightest clue if it was night or day. I pushed myself up, swaying slightly as I tried to stand up straight. But I staggered and fell back, into the bed. I did not try to rise again.

I managed to lie somewhat comfortably again, but the action exhausted me even more so. It was around then, that the door opened and Wufei stepped in, closely followed by Sally. She hurried over to my side, and asked me how I was feeling. Wufei stood with his arms crossed, by the foot of the bed.

"I'm alright..." I murmured, but I didn't make any effort to try and sit up again. My voice was still low and strained; it was clear that I was still incredibly weak.

Sally frowned, and she turned to gaze at Wufei. He nodded and stepped over, next to Sally; he slipped is arm under my shoulders and helped me sit up. After that, he helped me to my feet and together we staggered out of the room. I was vaguely reminded of the time that I had been captured during the war, when the others had had to carry me in our escape.

He led me down to the end of a dim hall, which then expanded out into a large sitting room; the first thing to catch my vision was Duo. He was sitting in one of the large chairs, facing away from me. I still had my arm up over Wufei's shoulder as I tried to stagger forward on my own. "Duo..." my voice was rough.

He turned to face me then, and as soon as his violet eyes registered the sight of me, he rose and hurried to my side. He helped me stand, and let Wufei step away. "So you finally woke up? How're you feeling, Heero?"

I leaned in to kiss him before I answered, whispering, "A bit better, I guess..." I could faintly taste human blood on his lips. It made me shiver.

Duo gave a small nod, seeming satisfied with my reply. "Well," he said after a moment, "your buddies, Trowa and Quatre, went and got some humans for us to feed off of. I already had my fill, and I feel a hell of a lot better. There's plenty left for you," he ended with a grin.

I just nodded, again taking notice of the ever growing need for blood. I hadn't really looked around me until then, and when I did, I saw that there were four unconscious humans slouched together on one of the sofas on the far side of the room. Without a word, Duo helped me over to a chair, then selected one of the four for me to feed off of.

It was a near blur from when I sank my fangs into the warm flesh of the first human, to when I was pulling away from the fourth, having drained all of them completely dry. I had been ravenous. The blood had not bothered me in the least... it had been effortless to take and take and then to finally kill. I wiped my mouth as I leaned back in the chair, feeling my strength gradually returning as the new blood was absorbed into my veins. I hadn't completely sated the need, but I was more than fine now—it was going to take more than just refilling my body for me to get back to proper health. And yet, my mind was clearer than it had been in much too long... I could think straight again. I let my eyes close, my hands resting limp in my lap. I could almost feel a glimpse of myself, of my sheer power and stamina, of everything that had made me myself before I had met Duo.

I cracked open one eye when I felt two familiar hands pick up and move my own. Duo sat down gently on my lap, curling into me as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. He let out a content sigh, nuzzling his nose in my neck. I turned slightly to gaze at him, his bright violet eyes smiling back.

"Your eyes..." he pointed out, some sort of relief clear in his voice, "They're really intense again, like they were when we first met." He paused for a moment, as if making a decision, "It's all gonna be okay now, Heero. I'm sure of it. I know that we're not finished, and that that Treize bastard is still prowling around out there, but I know that this is something we can handle now, you know? We're in it together."

"Duo..." I replied, almost reticently, almost reserved. It _worried_ me that we were in this together, because what he said was the exact truth. Treize was still out there; he wanted me dead, and he wanted Duo as his brand new plaything. It was only a matter of time before he found us here, or we found him... and I was sure that I would be strong enough to fight him this time around, but on the same token, I was just as _un_sure that I could guarantee Duo's safety. I loved him so much, and I never wanted him to leave my sight... and yet it was nearly unbearable to keep him with me in the face of danger. "Duo please, I can't let—"

He cut me off though, before I could finish my sentence, "No, Heero. You're not going to shut me out. Not now, not ever. I love you, and dammit I'm gonna kill Treize for beating you up like he did! I'm gonna personally put an end to him for that! I—"

This time, it was my turn to interrupt. I grabbed his shoulders, fear tightening my features as I forced him to lock eyes with me; Duo was kneeling in my lap now, his knees on either side of my legs. "Duo, you can't! Treize will kill _you_, don't you understand? Not the other way around! I... I don't know how in hell you managed to be so strong for such a young fledgling, but it's only that! Treize is even older than I am, and if anything, he has experience! I know you want revenge, but... but you just _can't..._ I don't know if you were listening when he told me that he wanted you as his perfect subordinate, but I'm going to do everything I can to keep him from you, even if it means forcing you to stay out of the fight." My own words hurt me, but they had to be said. I'd never be able to live with myself if something happened to Duo. If... if Treize managed to do something irreversible to my dear Duo, I'd have to do something drastic, like turning myself over to that sick bastard and letting him kill me slowly and painfully, just to try to make up for the guilt.

Duo's voice was quiet, serious, "I know, Heero. I heard it all. I saw that place through your eyes, saw what they did to you. Heero, I am begging you, please let me fight alongside you. I'll keep my wits about me, and I won't let either of us get caught... I'm stronger than you think, and I can defend myself without any problems." He paused again, his shoulders rising and falling as if he had attempted to draw a long breath, "Every time I tell you I want to do something for you that involves danger, you never hesitate to try to dissuade me of it. I'm not human anymore, Heero. I don't know how many times I have to tell you, but I am _far_ from vulnerable now that I'm not human anymore... I think that maybe, I'm so strong... so that I can protect you when you need me. So that you're not alone in the world anymore. I love you Heero... I always will."

I just hugged him to me then, feeling the sting of tears beginning to form in my eyes. My voice was shaky, "Duo..." And my next words were bittersweet, hurting, as well as calming my tortured heart, "I love you too, and I trust you... I want to be able to stay with you forever—"

"—Please, never leave me," Duo whispered, finishing my sentence somewhat.

"I won't, Duo. I swear it on everything that binds me to this world."

Duo and I just sat in silence together for a little while after that. He had curled back into the chair, his arms up over my shoulders again in a loose embrace. His lips brushed mine, and I kissed him, fiercely, deeply, passionately, lovingly. Even though I had kissed Duo earlier, and even back when we were still in that room at the Vampire Court, it felt like this had been the first time in much too long. I hadn't really been lucid then, hadn't been able to really _kiss_ Duo like I had wanted to. But I could now, and I hugged him tightly, my arms wrapped around his lithe waist like so many times before.

We sat together in comfortable silence after that. I ran my hand over his hair, taking his braid and pressing the end of it to my lips—Duo smiled. When the time to get up and go find the others finally came, I kept my fingers laced with Duo's as we walked. I vaguely remembered the layout of Quatre's estate, and by the looks of it, we were on the fourth and top floor. They were probably all downstairs a level or two. We took the stairs slowly, even though I was well enough by now to not have any trouble, and Duo's hand slid slowly down the railing as we went. And sure enough, as we approached the foyer on the second floor Duo and I came into earshot of the others' hushed conversation. We walked in nonchalantly, as if we weren't interrupting, and nothing was wrong. I sat down on one of the small sofas, and Duo plopped down beside me. He stayed very close to me, but clearly not out of fear.

It took the others a moment or two to notice us, since we had kept to the edge of the group and hadn't verbally made our presences known. Quatre gasped and quickly rose to his feet when he saw me, "Heero! How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine now." Not a lie.

He stepped over to me, and looked me over, as if he didn't quite believe my statement. "Well, you definitely _do_ look better," he commented. I nodded in reply, and I felt Duo's hand tighten in my own. "I'm glad though; you really had us worried... especially when Duo first brought you back," his tone was somewhat grave, and I felt Duo lean against me a little more.

A half-thought murmur echoed through my mind, Duo's voice. I'm not even sure he was aware that he had thought these words to me, _"I was so worried..."_

. . .

A handful of days passed, and I spent my time resting and feeding, gaining back my lost energy. Duo rarely left my side, something I was grateful for... Even though I hadn't been locked up in that cell for long, it seemed as if I had lost touch with him, lost touch with reality. It felt as if I was locked solely in the now, in just a tiny pocket of existence, with nothing but the few people around me and the vast expanse of Quatre's estate.

Right now, I was readying myself for a brief training session. I had been here with Quatre and Trowa for nearly a week, and my energy was just about completely recovered. In my hand, I held my silver knife—Duo had kept it with him since I had been captured. It seemed like forever had passed since I had held the familiar weapon in my calloused palm.

It wasn't easy, considering the memory was over two hundred years old, but I called back on the hazy recollection of when I was first learning how to fight, when I was still human. I did this periodically, tried to remember, as if there had been something hidden in my original training... some secret move I never really picked up on. But there wasn't one, and what I really needed now were the basics. I was going to start back at square one, and quickly re-teach myself everything I knew over the course of the next several days. I could also pass on some rather effective techniques to Duo, so that he could make use of them as well.

With a heave of my shoulders, I tightened the grip on my knife, and slowly began to ease towards Trowa—my current sparring partner—and therefore begin the training session. He matched my every step, as I knew he would, before quickening his pace and leaping into the air. He spun at some point, turning so that he'd land on his feet behind me, while still facing me. But I knew that attack pattern very well, and I took a basic sidestep to avoid the blade of his knife. By pure chance, Trowa landed awkwardly, and I rushed towards him before he could regain his balance. The metallic clang of our silver knifes clashing resounded within the arena.

I did my best to keep to the extreme basics, drawing out the 'fight' for as long as possible. It was insane how much my stamina had dwindled over the past few months... and even more so over the past few weeks. I could already feel the minimal exertion beginning to take its toll. And to think, I used to be so strong... it really was disgraceful, how weak I had become.

Long days passed, with the entire nocturne hours spent vigorously sparring, while the sunlit time was consumed by exhausted sleep. I hugged Duo to me in our bed every time we slept, as if trying to protect him from everything and anything. It vaguely reminded me of when he was still human, still seeming so frail and defenseless. I hated how I clung to those memories, but it couldn't be helped. Duo was my world, and I loved, adored, cared about him with every fiber of my being. I reveled every moment I spent with him.

Two days passed, and Duo was my sparring partner now; we were currently attempting to teach each other new fighting techniques. I had been showing him how to break a vampire's neck with one move: a basic and easy way to immobilize an enemy for at least a few minutes. Duo was now explaining a technique that he had come up with on his own—he had yet to use it in battle—it was a trick that utilized a vampire's teleportation abilities.

"Okay, you ready, Heero? I'm just gonna demonstrate the teleportation part," Duo said, holstering his knife, and easing himself into a standard fighting stance.

"I'm ready," I nodded, slipping my own knife into the holster at my hip. I blinked, watching Duo from where I stood about ten feet in front of him. His mouth creased into a smirk, and not a split moment later, he carried out the move—minus a weapon—that he had just described to me a few moments ago. I felt the side of his fist lightly hit my lower back, pressing into my shirt and moving up, as if he was slicing a deep, diagonal gash into my backside. Had it been someone other than Duo demonstrating this to me, I surely would've tensed against the mock attack.

Before I even had a chance to react, however, Duo was in front of me, the heel of his hand landing on my chest, right over my heart. "And just like that, you'd be dead!" he laughed, taking a step back.

"I can certainly see why," I let myself smirk, "It's a very effective attack, without a doubt."

Duo grinned at the praise, and I briefly closed the space between us. I pressed my lips to his for a moment. "My turn?"

He laughed, "You bet. Oh, and by the way, I call that 'Shinigami's Strike'."

"I can see why." With a small grin, I stepped back several steps, until I was about ten feet away from Duo. "It makes a perfect death blow... Are you ready for me?" Duo nodded. I eased into that low stance, like Duo had, and diverted my focus to executing the attack. I hadn't been doing much teleporting lately, having been focusing mainly on blatant fighting, but I wasn't worried about not being able to go through with this attack.

My next thought, and I was behind Duo, the side of my fist running up his back just like he had done to me. I was in front of him then, my hand flat over his heart. He placed his gentler palms over mine, lifting my hand to kiss at the calloused skin. "Great job," he snickered, his voice muffled by my hand. "You were a little slow, but still great." I smiled at him.

I pulled Duo to me then, hugging him. A sudden sense of... _relief_ had just overcome me, as if I had just realized that my strength was actually going to return, and I would be able to defend Duo next time Treize came around... I couldn't help but smile as I pressed my lips to his.

. . .

That morning, Duo and I lay in bed together. Neither of us were close to sleep just yet, and I let my mind wander to our training earlier that night. Duo had executed that attack perfectly, even if he hadn't used a weapon, and it brought my mind back to wondering about how he was so strong. As I speculated, a hazy thread of a thought came to be in my mind. It was a brief hint of something I once knew, had once looked into, many years ago.

"Hey, Duo," I started, opening my eyes and gazing at the dim shadow that was Duo beside me.

He shifted slightly before responding, "Yeah Heero?"

"Do you remember what happened when I changed you into a vampire?"

"Vaguely..." he paused, no doubt trying to remember, "...I know we were attacked, and you fought. Everything's clear till that vampire started coming after me. I remember that I got hurt though... and that I thought I was dieing... I told you I loved you, and then I think I passed out after that. Right after I woke up is hazy too..."

"I see..." I frowned slightly, thinking. "I think I have an explanation for why you're so strong... and it has to do with how you were so close to death when I changed you." I stared up at the darkness above us.

Duo was silent for a moment, before he spoke. I could hear the recollection in his voice, "Oh, I know what you're talking about! I saw it in one of the books in your study... like if you change a human at the exact moment of their death, they get double the strength as fledglings. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but you're right. It makes so much sense."

"Exactly," I paused for a moment, finding the memories of that time painful, "And you were so close to death... I'm sure that's exactly what happened. The force that was killing you bound itself to the magic of my blood, and took hold at the exact same moment, hence doubling your initial strength."

"Wow... Though I also remember that book said something about, like, even though my power as a fledgling is insane, my capacity for improvement isn't doubled. So I'll still get stronger, but I won't be insanely powerful like you are," he chuckled.

I gave his hand a gentle squeeze, "Do you know how lucky we are? Had I changed you even a moment sooner, you would be half as strong as you are now. And a moment later... and you would've died." His hand closed a bit tighter around mine.

"Well, that definitely has to mean _something_. I'm sure it wasn't just a coincidence..."

"No, I don't think it was a coincidence either," I smiled, turning my head to gaze at him. His lips were only a few inches from my own, "I think it's proof that our love for each other is something very real..."

. . .

I had forgotten what it felt like to be strong. It was a feeling that I had taken for granted, always expected to be there when I needed it. Now though, I could feel it gradually returning. I could feel myself becoming the invincible... _monster_ that I used to be—that I used to be before love struck me down from my place above the world. Nonetheless, days passed, and I continued to train relentlessly until the others forced me to stop. I would not fail in protecting Duo, not again.

Before I knew it, Duo and I had been here at Quatre's estate for nearly a month. Time had gone so fast. I had disappeared into the darkness of night, right before dawn, bringing myself to some faraway city in order to feed. It may seem like something impossible, had I been human, but my strength was already back to what it had been. In fact, as I drained dry my third victim that night, I wouldn't be fantasizing if I said that I felt stronger than I had even before I met Duo. I had completely mastered that technique he had showed me, as well as polished up my old fighting style. I was in my prime again, like I had been more than one hundred years ago. And even better yet: this time around, I had someone at my side who—despite the reasons that brought us together—loved me more than anything; I had Duo now.

When I came back to Quatre's estate, Duo had already returned from wherever he had gone to feed. He was lying in our bed, tucked comfortably under the blankets; his violet eyes were closed. But vampiric sleep hadn't taken him yet; Duo opened his eyes when he heard me begin to undress. I smiled, pulling on a softer set of clothes, before slipping into the bed beside him. "Hi Heero," he murmured, turning slightly so that he could lean in and kiss my nose.

I pulled him closer, meshing my lips to his in a possessive kiss. He returned it in a way that he would have never dared to when we first met—his arms laced around my shoulders, pulling me on top of him as he bit at my lips and pushed his tongue against my own. His cheeks were flushed when I pulled back, and the rest of his skin was of a pale, healthy color; like it had been when he was still human—Duo had fed well.

When I lay down comfortably beside him, Duo asked, "Do you think Treize will come after us again?"

The answer was obvious, "Without a doubt... I'm sure he's been searching for us this whole time."

"Yeah, you're right. It's only a matter of time till he finds us."

I placed my hand on the top of his head, stroking his soft hair, "We'll be fine, Duo. Don't you worry. I'll protect you this time... I promise." I pressed my lips to Duo's cheek, and he sighed contently, turning to curl into me. We both fell asleep soon after.

. . .

Another day of training passed before the storm hit. By storm, I mean that Quatre's entire estate was ambushed. Duo and I were surrounded in the training arena, and I didn't have the slightest idea where Quatre and Trowa were... but I wasn't worried about them; they were just as capable as Duo and I were.

It seemed as if an entire company of Treize's soldiers stood before us, all wielding silver weapons that were surely just as lethal as they appeared. I tightened my grip on my knife; about ten seconds passed, and Quatre and Trowa appeared beside us, in the small space surrounded by at least a hundred of Treize's vampires. That was when the first of them struck.

The clear crack of a gunshot echoed through the training arena, and I instinctively dodged. I felt the small gust of wind as the silver bullet shot through where I had just been standing. Duo and I both raced ahead at that, slashing and cutting anything our knives could make contact with; Quatre and Trowa did the same. To say the least, I didn't expect it when a solid fist came at me and connected with my jaw. It didn't hurt nearly as much as it could've, and I retaliated before I had even recovered from the shock of the blow. Beside me, I could hear Duo grunting and shouting as he continued to slice down as many vampires as he could. We were lost in the middle of an all-out brawl.

Not long after it became nothing more than a fight, and the initial shock of the ambush had faded, Quatre's voice rang out above the shouts and cries, breaking the deafening silence of battle. "Heero! Duo! Go!" a pause, "Go find Treize!" the moment his words registered in my mind, I turned back, looking around frantically for the blonde vampire. I saw him, and hurriedly retreated from my edge of the fighting. Duo caught my eye, and I pushed my way towards him, grabbing his hand.

"What about you and Trowa?" I called over the incoherent struggle.

"We can handle it!" he replied, taking a moment to glance back at Duo and I. I nodded, acknowledging his request.

Duo's hand squeezed mine, and then we were gone from the battle. I brought us to the edge of Quatre's estate, where Duo and I would be safe for at least a moment. Before even a word was said, I hurriedly checked him over for injuries. "I'm fine, Heero," he told me, insisted. He placed his hand on the side of my face, wiping my cheek with his thumb—only then, did I notice the insignificant sting of the shallow scratch.

"Are you sure?" I persisted, my worry unwavering. I couldn't help but be paranoid about Duo's safety... especially after how close I had gotten to losing him in the past.

"I am," he told me, before placing his hand flat on my chest, "Calm down, Heero. You need to stay focused, or it's going to be _you_ who gets hurt." His words were grave, were very cold but that didn't mean they weren't true. Duo was right; I needed to stay levelheaded and protect Duo. I couldn't let him get hurt, no matter the cost.

I gave a curt nod, before muttering, "Let's find Treize."

Said vampire was not hard to find, especially with all his soldiers mashed into one small place. He was alone, simply watching, no doubt enjoying the 'show'. I felt my anger rise as I saw him just standing there, grinning at the massacre he had set into action. I felt Duo's hand go rigid in mine, "I-is that...?" he asked, undisguised anger eliciting tremors in his words.

"Yeah," I nearly hissed, briefly turning to glance at Duo. I was shocked—his violet eyes had deepened to a nearly black color. I had never seen Duo become so angry, so... _vengeful_.

"A-and he's t-the one w-who..." Duo forced out, too angry to even speak evenly. "h-hurt you...? Gave you a-all those new s-scars...?"

"Yeah..." I repeated, suddenly wishing I hadn't when Duo's hand disappeared from mine. Teleportation brought him to the air several feet above the ground, right beside Treize, and he slashed at the man with his knife as his feet returned to the sandy floor below. Treize seemed to barely dodge the blow, and from my hiding place I saw him lift his sword and launch into action. Duo let out a raged cry as he slashed at Treize again; his attack was easily blocked and the familiar sound of silver against silver reached my ears.

Duo's attacks were sporadic and clearly impulsive—he had lost reason in the face of his anger. I had to stop him... But there was no way I was going to go against Duo right now. He needed to fight this out, release his anger—and better yet, gain some real fighting experience. This was his fight for now, and as soon as I saw that he was about to get hurt, I'd intervene. But not yet. Duo continuously dodged around, leaping from side to side and trying to land a hit. He clearly knew what he was doing, even if Treize was better—Duo's concentration was returning as his impulsive rage began to simmer down.

Treize slashed out with his sword, each strike a calculated and practice movement. Duo avoided every blow, but that didn't mean he was landing any either. He nearly got his knife into Treize's chest, nearly was able to take advantage of a small opening, but Treize caught it and reached out to grab Duo's collar with his free hand. But Treize's hand grasped only air as Duo quickly brought himself behind the older vampire. Duo grabbed at Treize's other hand trying with all his might to wrestle the sword from his grasp. But no matter how good a fighter Duo was, or how strong he was, Treize's physical strength was clearly greater. Duo leapt back just barely in time as Treize pulled free his hand and sword, and slashed at Duo's chest. There was a slice in the front of Duo's shirt.

The vigor of the fight seemed to slow for a moment, and Treize spoke, "You must be Heero's _pet_. I am absolutely _honored _to finally meet you in person." His tone was mocking, lacking any sort of sincerity. I couldn't see his face from here, but I could hear the sickening smirk.

Duo was clearly angry, his brow creased and his eyes an intense glare. His stance was low, guarded, ready to spring into either attack or evasion. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it; I could tell what he wanted to say by his expression—I didn't even need to tap into his mind for that. Duo had wanted to deny that he was my 'pet'. It made me sick to think of it that way, but in a sense he had been... and Duo knew it. He would not deny the truth.

Seeing that Duo was not going to reply, Treize continued to speak. He stepped back with one foot, lowering his sword enough to imply that he would not attack, while still not lowering his guard. His tone of voice made me sick, "Why don't you join me instead? I hear that you are the strongest fledgling around—I need someone with skills like yours. Someone trustworthy."

Duo's disgust was obvious, "Fuck no! Do you honestly think I'd join the guy who kidnapped and beat the man I love? Who is leading this entire world into chaos?" Duo took an angry step forward, and I silently willed him to stay put. Treize was provoking him, trying to distract him enough to lower his guard enough that he could...

"I apologize for that," his voice kept that sweet, persuasive tone, "But I'm sure you know that those who break the rules must be punished. It is the same in the human world, is it not? I was only doing what was necessary."

Duo growled. "Bastard," he spat.

"Why don't you join me?" he repeated, just the same. "I can guarantee you'll be much happier with me. I will arrange for my best fighters to train you, to make the best of your potential. You will become my right-hand man—how does that sound?"

"Two words," Duo hissed, "Fuck. No."

I watched as Treize discretely readjusted his grip on his sword, "It's not wise to be so quick to disagree, you know. If it's any consolation, you definitely will not be anyone's _pet_ if you join me. You will not be used, like you have been; nor will you be forced to submit to anyone without reason."

I felt the vaguely familiar sting of tears in my eyes as I watched Duo's rigid stance soften slightly. It was hardly even noticeable, but more than enough to tell me that Treize's words were growing closer and closer to sending cracks through Duo's resolve. Something within my chest throbbed at the thought of that. As if by a force unknown to me, the sudden feeling that Duo was _mine_, that he _belonged_ to me, returned, and I was overcome with a possessive sense of loathing towards Treize. I wanted nothing more than to leap out and stab my blade into my enemy's heart this very moment.

I resisted that want, however, waiting and watching the scene before me play out. Any moment now, I knew, Treize would attack Duo. My entire body went tense with hate when Treize's voice reached my ears again, "Why don't you join me? You'll have a much better life if you leave this place and come with me."

Duo's rigid stance seemed to falter, though his expression remained cold. From a glance into his mind, I knew he would not break, would not give in, but even the idea that Treize could do no wrong was enough of a distraction. And that was all it took. Duo was not completely on his guard, and Treize had centuries of experience... the difference in capability was obvious.

With speed that I hadn't seen since the days of the war, since I had tried to fight him when I was nothing but a fledgling, Treize lifted his sword and attacked. There was a good ten feet of space in between him and Duo, but I knew he was taking this fight seriously now—no more playing around. No matter how fast Duo was normally, his guard was lowered somewhat right now, and he'd never be able to get out of the way in time. It was my turn to intervene, and I had to act fast... or there wouldn't be anything worth fighting for anymore...

Duo appeared almost frozen, almost too afraid to move. With speed comparable to Treize, I brought myself to stand mere inches in front of Duo, my knife at the ready. The moments passed by slower than any time in my life, and I lowered myself into a fighting stance, my left arm back to keep Duo behind me, to protect him. I brought up my right arm, my grip on its hilt unwavering as I prepared to use it as a shield against the oncoming strike. When Treize's blade hit mine, the shrill screech of pure silver colliding against purer silver echoed through the sluggish moments, filling every inch of empty space with sound. The force of Treize's heavy sword against my intricate knife was hard to match, but I hadn't been training so hard for nothing.

The two blades screeched once more and seemed to spark, igniting the fire of time yet again. Sounds filled my ears then, and the world came to life around me. With a near strangled shout, I pushed against Treize's sword with all my might, sending it back and away. He lowered his blade slightly, but I kept my knife up, my stance low. I kept my arm back, protecting Duo from this monster before us.

"H-Heero!" Duo stammered from behind me, but I said nothing. I glared daggers at Treize, glared at him so hard he should've just dropped dead. I wanted nothing more than to brutally kill him, to end him then and there... but I couldn't. Because if I did that, then all my research these past years would go to waist... I had to be patient; I had to remain in control.

"Treize," I said, my voice a cold monotone.

"Heero," he replied, his tone just as serious.

"Call back your soldiers. They have no business here."

He kept quiet at that.

"Do it!" I demanded, and I felt Duo shiver behind me because of the tone and volume of my voice.

That got him to speak, "You are in no position to order me around, you disgrace of a vampire! The last direct fledgling of the vampire that fell to my unmatched strength—you expect me to take orders from you?"

"I am the rightful heir to Aoiro's throne, not you! So yes! Did you not tell me that a subject must always listen to his king? You will do as I say!" my tone grew angrier by the moment, and not a second after my words ended Treize attacked me.

His sword slashed down, but I deflected it in the same fashion as before. His blade came from the left, the right, above once again; I blocked each one. "Let's settle this with a duel. A formal duel," I said. It wasn't a suggestion, as the wording implied. It was a command. We would fight this out once and for all. The end was very near for one of us, and I would not lose.

Treize attacked again, and I blocked it, yelling over the sounds of his attempted attacks, "A fight to the death! If you can kill me, then you deserve your power! If I kill you, then I gain what is truly mine!"

Treize leapt back, and his voice was resentful. "Fine. We will do this your way. The duel will be tomorrow at midnight. You know where." And with that, he signaled to his soldiers, and they all disappeared, vanished, retreated.

I relaxed my taut muscles and sheathed my knife. I turned to see that Duo had yet to react. I took him into my arms and just kissed him, kissed him fiercely and he returned it in a way that he never had before. Distantly, I registered the soft thud as he simply dropped his knife... and then he was lacing his fingers through my short, thick hair, pulling my lips harder against his. I held him tight around the waist, all the energy from the fight being channeled into our kiss. Several minutes passed before we finally broke apart.

His hand held mine and I asked him if he was alright. "I'm fine," he told me, "not a scratch." I bent to pick up his knife, and he holstered it, before simply hugging me tightly. "Thank you," he murmured, "For saving me again."

"You're welcome... my dear Duo," my voice was a whisper, nearly wavering. "I love you so much..." It felt as if I could not speak any louder without it breaking. I kissed his cheek before pulling away. "Let's go find the others."

When we found Trowa and Quatre, I wasn't quite sure if I should've expected anything different. It looked like they had killed about half of Treize's force—I had known those two were fine on their own. "You guys okay?" asked Duo when we came up to them.

"All good here," smiled Quatre, "Just a few scratches for the both of us."

"Good," he smiled, "Heero had to save me, but we both got out unscathed."

After that, as the high of battle was replaced with the still calm of the aftermath, Duo and I went off to go feed. When we returned, I informed Quatre and Trowa of my duel with Treize tomorrow at midnight. I had about twenty hours to prepare... to get in a little more training, and rest up before the battle that could very well be the last of my life, the last of Treize's life.

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**the end! nah jk XD one more chapter, then its over :D i'll try to get the last chappy out to you guys soon.**

**oh! and i'm commissioning the amazing Sapphiregamgee over on dA to illustrate a scene from this fic for me! hopefully it'll be done by ch11, so i can give you guys the link :D**

**so, until then. dont forget me! -now to go cram for my psych test :/  
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	11. The End Draws Near

**If you think this is the last chapter, you are wrong! XD i decided that this bit was long enough for a chapter, and so to shorten the wait a little bit, you'll get this to keep ypu occupied XD it's a little short, but it works, and well... you'll see XD**

**OH! go lookit! the great Sapphiregamgee finished my commission, and here it is! its from the end of the last chapter :D **http:/ /sapphiregamgee . deviantart . com / art/Commission- Danyluvr58-1975 91375

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Bloodstained Devotion

Chapter 11

The End Draws Near

With a grimace, I leapt forward, slashing at the wooden mannequin with my knife. I teleported back, not an instant after the blade made contact, landing lightly on my feet several feet away. I teleported to the side, attacked, then brought myself back to where I had just been standing. I continued with this for several minutes, before moving on to practice the move Duo had shown me. Treize and his army had left only a few hours ago, and I had been training since. I was doing all that I could to refine my speed, as well as perfect Duo's 'Shinigami's Strike'. I had to be ready for this duel... I could not lose.

I trained hard, forced my body to remember the days of the war, when I had briefly fought Treize on the battlefield. My short spar with him, not three hours ago, had reminded me of his strength, of his speed and accuracy. Even if he preferred sabotage over brute force, his attack strength was, without a doubt, a force to be reckoned with. I had to be ready, I had to be able to defeat the monster that I was about to be pit against.

With a grunt, I stabbed my knife into the mannequin's body, into where its heart would be, had it been a vampire. When I pulled out my knife and backed away, I noticed a sore twinge in my shoulders—I was growing worn out from training so intensely. But I had to keep going—I told myself this over and over—I had to keep going, I had to be ready. I could not, _would_ not die, once the time came and I was locked in the duel to the death.

I prepared myself for another run of Duo's attack, when I heard the familiar voice of my lover echo around the arena—he had called my name. I turned to see Duo, standing by the door leading back into Quatre's mansion—he was leaning casually against the wall, as if he had been there a while. "You're gonna hurt yourself if you keep goin' at it like you are!" he called to me, before pushing away from the wall and bringing himself to stand before me.

"Duo..." I murmured, gazing into his eyes. My voice rose to a normal volume, "I need to keep training... I have to be strong enough to defeat Treize."

Duo sighed, and reached to take my hand into his, despite the fact that I was still clutching my knife. "You'll exhaust yourself if you don't give it a rest soon," he told me, his other hand reaching up to gently massage my shoulder, "You've already started to wear out your body. Heero, it's time to stop."

I couldn't stop myself from leaning into the touch of his hand on my shoulder, as his fingers worked to ease the ache in my overworked muscles. My tone remained determined, however, "Duo, I can't. I have to be as strong as I can—I have to be stronger than Treize. I can't just stop—"

But Duo cut me off, pressing both his hands to my chest and staring up at me intensely. "Please, Heero. You'll exhaust yourself, and then you really will lose, no matter how strong you are," he pleaded, "You need to go feed, as much as you can, and then rest. All of this training will be useless if you don't take care of yourself."

I blinked, then after a moment, I nodded. A small smile curled at the corners of my mouth as I lifted my hand to place it on his arm. "You're right, Duo," I said, holstering my knife and then holding his other arm as well. I gently pulled him to me, so that his chest was flat against mine, and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Of course I'm right," he smirked at me, before rising up slightly to kiss me on the lips. I returned it lovingly, his soft lips meshing with mine in a way that almost reminded me of the tentative kisses we shared when Duo was still human. Part of me missed those days... missed the _innocence_ of our love... yet I never really wanted to go back. Because, as far as fear and submission went, this was the real Duo beside me now—he was no longer afraid, he was no longer bound beneath me.

Duo's mouth was sweet, and I knew he hadn't fed recently—there were no traces of blood in the taste of his mouth. When I finally pulled away, I said, "Let's go together," and he clearly knew what I meant.

I brought the two of us to a lavish, faraway city, and the two of us stuck together while we hunted down our prey. The streets were lit, and the pre-dawn commuters were crowding the sidewalk. The two of us remained in the shadows, trying to ignore the fact that the sky was gradually growing lighter. Duo and I had no trouble locating two humans for us to feed off of. Actually, it was mostly Duo doing the hunting—he played up his charming act—like before—leading two men into an alley, where I was waiting to knock them both unconscious. We fed well, taking turns on who went out to fetch our next victims. It wasn't long before Duo had had his fill, and I was the only one feeding. I felt slightly energized by the fresh blood running through my veins, and the soreness from my harsh training session rapidly diminished.

It was nearly too bright out for my susceptible senses when we left there, even though Duo was perfectly fine. We returned to our bedroom at Quatre's estate, and I was relieved to be surrounded by the comfort of darkness—the light from the lone candle over on the desk was more than enough luminosity for my accustomed eyes. When Duo and I finally slipped into the bed, a thought entered my mind.

I... I might actually _lose_ the duel against Treize. He might be stronger than me. I might... die.

I suppressed a shudder, hugging Duo close as we cuddled together under the blankets. I was confident that I could win... but for all I knew, this could very well be my last night holding Duo. This could very well be the last time that he and I were together. I shivered, and Duo seemed to understand my distress, because his arms laced around my shoulders in a comforting embrace, as we lay together. That thought of precaution morphed into fear, and I soon became terrified that my time with Duo was rapidly coming to an end. Why had it all gone by so fast? It seemed like so long ago that we first met, and yet it felt as if not even a month had passed by. I wished that we could've been together longer... and even if I do defeat Treize tomorrow, I wished that we could've had more time before this as lovers, rather than doing research or training.

Tears began to sting my eyes—a feeling that I was used to by now. I opened my cobalt stare and gazed at Duo, who was curled up beside me—he was asleep, as far as I could tell. I stared intently into his unseeing, lidded gaze, almost as if he was staring right back. "I'm sorry," I murmured, my voice no more than a whisper; I let my eyes slide closed. I forced the stress within me to lessen, forced my guard to be lowered enough that I could sleep...

In a sense, this duel with Treize would be a final showdown, proving my love and devotion for Duo... it was something I had to win, no matter what.

. . .

When the vampiric sleep released me, I found that Duo had rolled over in my arms—his back was against my chest, and he was still limp and lost to the world. He was still sleeping soundly, and I briefly remembered when Duo had still been human, when his warm body had been hesitant to relax against mine. Carefully, I eased my arms out from around him, sitting up in the bed. Duo didn't stir—not like he would've, however; vampires slept deeper than a human lost to a coma.

I leaned back down for a moment, placing a gentle kiss on Duo's forehead. Before I pulled away, I whispered to him, "I love you, my dear Duo." I rose from the bed, picked up my knife in its sheath, and left the room.

I brought myself straight to the training arena—the sky was half navy, half crimson with the setting of the sun. I only had a handful of hours left before I was to engage in the deadliest battle I had faced in many years. Slowly, with the skill of a practiced killer, I drew my knife and let myself fall into a low fight stance. I needed to keep training. I needed to be stronger. I needed to survive this battle, and return to Duo alive. I let myself practice only the basic, fundamental attacks, following Duo's advice that I needed to conserve my energy.

Eventually, a good hour after the sky had faded to complete darkness, I heard Duo's voice echo in my mind. He seemed disappointed; I froze on the spot. _"Heero..." _I turned to see him standing in the doorway of the arena, staring directly at me. He seemed unsure of how to say his next words, and they echoed in both my ears and mind. "You have nothing to be sorry for!" he called, both across the arena and our telepathic link. It wasn't for a moment or so that I realized what he had meant—Duo had been awake when I had told him I was sorry before; he had heard me. I looked away, suddenly guilty—I hated myself for getting him into this mess.

Several moments later, I heard the sound of Duo walking towards me across the arena—walking, rather than simply teleporting to my side. When he finally reached where I was standing, his gentle hand went over mine again—only this time, his fingers tenderly eased my knife out of my grasp. Meanwhile, the fingers of his other hand lightly brushed my cheek, ghosted over my lips. He pulled away when I kissed his fingertips. That was when I looked up, seeing the confusion and slight distress in his eyes. "Why... are you sorry? You have no reason to be..." he murmured, nearly inaudibly. He was holding my knife at his side, but not in a way that he would have, had he gotten his hands on it when we first met.

I frowned, blinking to fight away the sting of tears, "I do though... This whole mess is my fault."

I heard the soft thud of my knife landing on the sandy ground—Duo had dropped it. "How so? You did nothing to bring this on. I'm sure it would've happened even if you didn't do whatever you think caused it," he tried to reason with me. "Treize would've hunted you down sooner or later, and we'd be dealing with the same problems then that we are now."

A sudden impulse made me grab his shoulders, "But why now? Why couldn't he have come after me like this before? Why not before I—"my voice cracked, "before I met you, when I had nothing to fight for?" I could feel myself begin to break down, as the reality of it all crashed down on me full force. I opened my mouth to speak again, but instead, Duo pressed his lips to mine in a brief, calming kiss.

"That's exactly why, Heero. You have something to fight for now. Something real to return to. You have me, and because of that, you will win..." Duo smiled at me, and I couldn't help but return it somewhat. "And all that research you've done," he continued, "We made a breakthrough just in time—doesn't that just seem like this was meant to be? Even if they hadn't come after you when they did, I'm sure you would've stormed Treize's keep around now anyways."

I lowered my head. "You're right," I murmured. And he was—even if Noin hadn't landed the first attack, hence forcing me to change Duo, I still would've launched my own attack against Treize by now... not to mention, part of me thought it was better this way—because Duo was no longer a vulnerable human. He wasn't so fragile anymore, and he could defend himself to an extent. Had he still been human, it would've been simply too easy for Treize to capture him, and use him as leverage against me. I hated to say it, but, "I guess it's better this way."

With a small smile, Duo crouched down to pick up my knife. He handed it back to me, "It is, without a doubt." After a moment of simply staring into my cobalt eyes, Duo looked up at the night sky above us for what felt like several minutes. When he finally lowered his gaze, he drew his own knife from the sheath at his hip, "How 'bout I spar with you for a while?"

"I'd like that," I smiled at him, and the feelings of dread and guilt began to dissipate.

. . .

It was nearing eleven o'clock—an hour until the duel. Duo and I made our way back into Quatre's estate; I had my arm wrapped over his shoulders, and his was around my waist as we walked. We found Quatre and Trowa, and surprisingly Wufei and Sally, in the main room of the second story of the huge mansion.

Quatre turned to gaze at me, his light eyes displaying a mix of emotions. "Are you leaving soon?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yeah."

The others said nothing, and after a few moments, I spoke again. Duo's hand clutched mine, "Thank you, for everything, you guys." I locked eyes with all of them, looking around the room. My gaze finally stilled when it became filled with the sight of Duo's perfect face. My voice was quiet this time, almost doubting, almost unsure, "Don't worry if... if I don't come back." I looked around at all of them one more time before slipping my hand from Duo's and turning away. I left the large room, simply walking back to the bedroom Duo and I shared—I heard my lover following after me.

I left the door open when I got to the bedroom, and after a few moments I heard Duo shut it behind him. Almost as if I was lost to an incoherent haze, I went to sit on the bed. By all means, I was sure that I would win against Treize, but I didn't want to be too confident. Fear of death would keep me from fighting recklessly, would keep me from overestimating my own abilities—either of which I could not afford to do.

Without a word, Duo came and sat down beside me. Silence reigned for several minutes, and I wasn't quite sure how to break it.

"I love you," Duo said suddenly.

I turned to look at him, and he was simply staring ahead blankly, obviously at a loss for words again. I didn't know what to say, other than, "I love you too, Duo."

He turned to gaze at me then, and I placed my hand on his cheek. After a brief moment though, I simply pulled him to me and hugged him, hugged him desperately, like I had the night that I had changed him into a vampire. After several minutes, I pulled away, rising to my feet. "I need to go back to my mansion—there's something I want to get," I told him.

Duo rose as well, "I'm coming with you." I nodded, taking his hand and bringing us both to the master bedroom of my mansion—it had been much too long since we had been here.

Not hesitating for even a moment, I pulled away from Duo and went to search for what I had come here for. Search wasn't the best word, per se, since I knew exactly where I had hidden it, but that didn't really matter at the moment. I opened the door to the large walk-in closet and flipped on the light, pushing away a mass of clothes that were hanging on the rack. There was a large, yet hardly visible, panel in the wall, and I pressed it in, so that it could slide open like a pocket door. Inside, there was a large case; I pulled it out, carrying it out to place it on the bed.

I could feel Duo watching curiously as I entered in the password on the lock and then opened the heavy lid of the case. Inside sat my most precious possessions from when I was human. I reached in, pulling out my still familiar silver katana—I drew the blade from its sheath, giving it an experimental swing; I could still remember learning to fight and kill with this weapon, more than two centuries ago. Duo smiled at me, and I slipped the sword back into its worn scabbard.

Along with the sword, the old chest contained several of my other belongings from that time. At the very bottom, however, was a neatly folded set of clothing—my old green tank top and spandex shorts. I hadn't worn these since the days of the war. Carefully, as to not disturb any of the other items in the case, I pulled out the two articles of clothing, placing them on the bed. I closed the lid of the chest, locked it, and returned it to the hidden compartment in the closet.

Duo smiled at me, and I began to change into my old clothes. I tucked the green tank top into the black spandex shorts, just like I used to all those years ago. I secured a belt around my waist, taking my knife and slipping it into the sheath on the belt. Instead of a pair of worn out sneakers, like I used to wear with this outfit, I pulled on a pair of yellow work boots, tightly lacing them up all the way. I rose to my feet from where I had been sitting on the bed, and went to look at myself in the mirror. I frowned grimly at the sight—hardly any of the scars on my upper chest and shoulders were hidden by the baggy top. Most of these scars were from the war, the worst of which from my past battles with Treize and Zechs. I hated the sight of them, since they brought back such horrible memories, but this did not seem like the time to hide them. If anything, this duel seemed like the time to flaunt them, to show off that damage that I had survived in the past.

A glance at the clock by the bed told me that I should be leaving soon—the duel was at midnight. I walked over to where Duo was sitting on the bed, lifting him to his feet and hugging him tightly. "Goodbye, Duo, I'll be back. Go wait for me with Quatre and the others."

Duo pushed away from me, stating bluntly, "I'm coming with you."

"No Duo, you can't."

"Why not?" he asked, his violet eyes shining, "Because it's not safe?"

I just nodded. Of course I wanted him to come, but it was simply too dangerous to bring him with me. I could not assure his safety if he came with me to be a witness of my battle against Treize. In a worst case scenario, if I lost and was killed, Duo would be back with the others, given he stayed behind, and they could protect him from Treize and his minions.

His eyes were pleading when he spoke again, "Please, Heero. You're forgetting that I can defend myself now... I don't want to have to leave your side, not for this."

I lowered my gaze, "Alright... but please Duo, promise me that you'll get out of there if they start coming after you."

Duo was smiling lightly when I looked back up. "Only after they get their asses handed to 'em, okay?" I grinned at that, leaning in to kiss him.

A few moments passed, and I made sure I was as ready as I could be for the duel, as well as checked that Duo had his knife with him. It was about ten minutes before the battle when I took Duo's hand in mine, and brought us to the enormous battle arena at the Vampire Court. We were at the far end of the showground, and I felt myself falling further into my older, stronger state of being—my eyes flickered back and forth, scanning our surroundings.

The first thing that became obvious was the lighting of the arena. We were deep underground, and the vertical tower above was lit with both electric lights and torches. The stands were simply balconies at every floor, circling the inverted skyscraper. The incoherent chatter from the crowd was deafening, yet easy to tune out as nothing more than jumbled noise. I was a little surprised to see such a large crowd, but the more witnesses the better—that way they would all know when I killed Treize and took his throne. I squeezed Duo's hand when I spotted the stark blue military uniform that was Treize, standing across the arena.

At about the same moment, the crowd above noticed us—we had only been here for a handful of seconds, after all—and the volume of the incoherent chatter seemed to increase tenfold. Treize had apparently seen us too, because he walked away from whoever he had been talking to, and began making his way towards us. Duo's hand went tense in mine, and I resisted the urge to back away a few steps. That need to retreat became stronger as Treize brought himself to stand before us, as Duo got closer to me, and I wrapped my arm around him protectively. I sort of held Duo behind me, taking a small step forward—his hand was almost painfully tight on mine, and I could not decipher if such an act was out of fear or anger.

Treize smirked at us, in a way that portrayed his feelings of superiority. His gloved hand rested on the hilt of his sword, and I knew he was anxious to simply attempt to skewer me here and now. But if anything, Treize knew not to attack until the duel officially begun. "How cute," he cooed, and I felt Duo go tense against me. My eyebrows creased in a mix of anger and disgust. "Were you too scared to come and fight me, without bringing your little pet to come and watch, Heero?" Duo's tense body went absolutely rigid, and I fought to keep my mouth shut and to refrain from destroying Treize where he stood. I had to keep calm. I couldn't let his mocking get the better of me.

I said nothing, just squeezed Duo's hand tighter. "And it appears that you dug out those old rags of yours," he smirked haughtily. I watched angrily as he eyed my many scars. He would've made a comment about that as well, but a vampire appeared—it was Lady Une—beside Treize, and spoke instead.

"I apologize for interrupting, your Excellency, but it will be midnight in only five minutes. I advise that you, and your opponent," she sent a disgusted glare in my direction, "take care of any final preparations before the duel."

Treize nodded, and I could nearly see a hint of lust in his bloodthirsty eyes, "Very well, Lady."

Her large, round glasses glinted in the golden torchlight as she locked eyes with Treize, and then me, one last time, before disappearing from sight. Treize took a step back then, and the smirk on his face bared his fangs in a dangerous expression. "I will leave you two alone for now, so that you may say your last goodbyes," he laughed mockingly, before teleporting out of sight—presumably to wherever that Lady Une had gone.

In the very next moment, Duo had his arms wrapped around me in a near desperate embrace. His body gave a violent shudder, and for a brief moment, before I saw his face, I thought that he was crying. But instead, as he pulled away to gaze into my cobalt stare, I saw not tears, but instead intense worry and frustration. "You'll beat him, right? Right, Heero?" he asked me, almost stumbling over the words.

I nodded, leaning in to kiss him. But Duo pulled away, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at me with his intense, amethyst gaze. "Say it Heero, tell me if you'll win or not," his tone was firm, but I wouldn't have had a problem with it even if he had screamed at me—Duo's fear and frustration were justified right now.

"I'll win, Duo. I swear it," I paused, briefly contemplating the best way to say my next words. "I... I need you, love you too much to let him win this duel to the death." I simply hugged him tightly then, wishing that I could hold him closer than this, that I never had to break away from this caring embrace. At some point, as I held him so close, our lips meshed and we shared a loving, desperate kiss—I could feel his fangs click against mine, could taste his sweet mouth in my own.

This moment could've lasted forever, but our five minutes before midnight were nearly spent—I broke away, and Duo turned to gaze at the huge clock on the far wall—we had just over a minute. He pulled away from me then, knowing he had to leave. I drew him closer for one more moment, however, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. "I love you, my dear Duo."

I could've sworn I saw the glitter of tears in Duo's eyes as he began to turn away. "I love you too, Heero," he murmured, his voice so low that I hardly heard him, "Good luck..." And then he simply walked away, going to stand over by the sidelines of the arena.

I looked around the large, circular battlefield, finding that, on the first level of stands, there was a sort of sectioned off press box, no doubt where the vampires that called the time, and announced the winner were seated. They were directly across from the clock, which made sense. It was exactly a minute before midnight now, and I saw Treize appear on the field, directly across from me.

At that same moment, the voice of one of the vampires in the press box echoed up and down through the tower, "The challenge facing our fearless leader is nearly upon us! A duel to the death, against the supposed last direct fledgling of our leader past, Aoiro!" The nose of the crowd rose up then, deafening the announcer for a few moments—they were booing me, seemingly all of them... my determination to win simply grew.

When the announcer regained control, midnight was nearly upon us. I drew my knife, lowering into a fighting stance and glaring across the arena at Treize, who was also readying himself. "And there they go! Ready to fight! Our fearless leader, his Excellency, Treize Khushrenada, who has beaten every one of his challengers, will no doubt rise to the top of this duel to the death! He will not lose! He will remain our leader!" The crowds were a complete uproar after that, their cheers reverberating through the entire tower.

Not two seconds later, just enough time for me to fully focus my attention on the vampire aiming to take my life, the clock struck twelve and the duel began.

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**cliffhanger! again! ha so i'll have the for real last chapter up for sure this weekend. i promise!**


	12. Duel to the Death

**guess what? i finally finished it! i finally sat down, and wrote this freaking thing XD i'll warn you now though, its total crap towards the end... i'm really sorry about that, but simply _finishing_ this fic was my priority. i hope you guys'll forgive me... **

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Bloodstained Devotion

Chapter 12

Duel to the Death

_Not two seconds later, just enough time for me to fully focus my attention on the vampire aiming to take my life, the clock struck twelve and the duel began. _

Treize disappeared that very moment, and I opened my senses, anticipating his initial attack. It was a blow from behind, my gut told me, and I whirled around to stop his sword with the blade of my knife. I didn't consciously hear it, but the roar of the crowd only increased as the first clash of silver weapons rang out.

I leapt back, landing lightly on the dusty, worn ground. Treize bolted forward, his silver sword raised in an attack that was blatantly obvious, and easy to avoid. He was just messing with me. I dodged to the side, not using my teleportation just yet—I was getting the feeling that this battle was going to be a long one, so I had to conserve my strength for the final moments that would decide my fate. I tried to swipe at Treize with my knife, but he saw it coming, and moved out of the way, easily avoiding the strike.

"Who would've known," he grinned mockingly, rushing at me again, sword pointed directly at my heart. I leapt up, my foot briefly making contact with the flat part of his blade as I practically jumped off of it, and over Treize's head. He came to a standstill, turning to look back at me, "That you'd have so many scars, Heero."

I just narrowed my eyes at him, not even taking the time to growl or bare my fangs. I threw myself forward, dodging to the side as he tried to stop me with his sword. I continued around, keeping low to the ground, only rising to attempt to stab my knife into his side. It was just past too late when Treize dodged—there was a shallow cut in his side now, and a few drops of vampiric blood on the tip of my silver knife. The wound didn't even faze him, however. He just glared at me.

"Pathetic," he hissed.

I frowned, waiting for him to attack. He didn't though, just remained where he stood, blade still raised as blood seeped into his blue uniform. "The reason behind all those scars is obvious, Heero. You're too weak to defend yourself. Those aren't the scars of a warrior, they're the scars of a failure, a coward." He let out a cackle, and the roar of the crowd nearly deafened it, wanting more action, more blood.

I did my best to keep quiet, to keep those comments from getting past my wall of defense. But I was failing, because he was wrong... so wrong that it hurt me and part of me screamed to make him know the truth—while the other part of me wanted to prove him wrong, so that Duo would not believe him. "I'm no coward!" I nearly cried, starting towards him, only to break out into a full sprint, knife at the ready.

He avoided it, as I expected him too, but I was ready with a follow up attack. I grabbed out with my left hand, my fingers curling around his wrist as he tried to leap back. He gave a very brief struggle, an attempt to break free, but I held on with all I had, clutching his wrist as if letting go would mean certain death. With a cry, I stabbed my knife up into his forearm, all the way through—I knew not to go for a kill shot just yet; Treize was too strong an opponent to go down with only one major blow.

Blood coated my knife as I twisted it in his arm, letting go of his wrist. A sudden impulse, a sudden _force_, cried out in my head, telling me to move, to get out of the way—I acted on it. I was almost too late, though, and I felt the now familiar silver of Treize's blade slice into my side, creating a very shallow gash. I bit back the hiss of pain, knowing it would only distract me in trying to get away. I jerked my knife out of Treize's arm and leapt away, putting a hand over my side and loosely clutching the wound. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been, for which I was grateful. It still stung, nonetheless, but not as much as some of the wounds I had received from that blade in the recent past... The screech of the crowd was even louder, obviously glad that I had gotten hurt.

Treize remained where he stood, refraining from softening his stance to clutch at the wound in his left arm—he knew that lowering his sword arm would leave him open for me to attack. After a few moments, he disappeared again; but the gut feeling that seemed to be guiding me, alerted me to where he was about to strike. I ducked down, rolling out of the way; his sword just barely missed slicing off my head—it might've cut a hair or two, though. I rose to my feet to face him, only to find that the sick bastard was smirking at me again. "I remember that scar," he said, and I instantly knew which one he was talking about. "I remember the night, the battle where I cut you with this very sword." He was mocking me again.

The scar that Treize was referring to, was a rather nasty one across my back. It stretched from the back of my right arm, all the way to my left shoulder blade—I had made a miscalculation in predicting one of his attacks towards the end of the battle, long after my strength had begun to leave me, and it had cost me dearly. Of course, I had been nothing more than a fledgling at that time, and I hadn't had the skills to defend myself like I did now. "You say that as if it has any significance," I heard myself mutter, not really thinking before I spoke. I tightened my grip on my knife, trying to edge closer, trying to find an opening so that I could attack.

"Oh but it does," he grinned, seeming much too happy to begin elaborating on my mistakes. "It was because of how deeply you succumbed to the poison of my silver blade, that I was able to take captive you, and your silly allies." I just glared at him, a low growl slipping past my lips. His words didn't quite register just yet. He continued on, "It really was... satisfying," he said, as if that word didn't quite suit the idea he was trying to form, "to see the near indestructible, last direct fledgling of the famed Aoiro, become as weak and delirious as you had, after only two days of being tied up in the sunlight." It had only been for two days? I had only been subject to that torture for a short two days, back then? It had felt like I had been there for at least a week... at least a week before they gave up on trying to break me.

But wait... I had been captured by the _enemy_, and Treize had been on their side, but not in the area where we had been fighting at the time. Trowa, Quatre, Wufei and I had been taken captive a few days after my fight with Treize, but we had covered a lot of distance since that battle... unless they had followed us. That gash in my backside hadn't been the only wounds inflicted on me by Treize that day, and I had been young, without any sort of real immunity to the sting of silver. Because of the raging war, medicine had been scarce, and I had had to heal on my own and overcome the magic that had been coursing through me... I had been far from lucid those several days.

"Yes, that's right," he said, as if reading my thoughts, "I was behind you and your friends' capture and torture. I watched you receive nearly all of your scars, Heero; I saw how you whimpered and begged like that human of yours surely did the first time you drank his blood." He paused, as if letting it sink in, "...And not long after that, once almost all your siblings had perished, I joined your side and became close to Aoiro, deceiving him of my intentions. I'll tell you, it wasn't easy to gain his trust, but he needed power and I was strong—I beat you, after all. His trust in me led to his downfall." Treize let out a small cackle, and I suddenly became aware of where we stood again—the duel arena... the crowds were wild, begging for action.

I bit back the cry of shock when Treize appeared not a foot before me—I felt the static-like sting of his silver blade so close to my skin. I leapt back, struggling to get away, and ignore the familiar burn left by the shallow cut his sword had just made in my chest. I raced forward after that, and our blades clashed over and over again, the shrill screeches of silver against silver ringing out around us. The crowd seemed ballistic, purely ecstatic to see us fighting again—I briefly wondered if Duo was still watching, but I didn't have the chance, or focus, to try to reach him now.

Treize pushed back against my knife with his sword, and I was forced to leap away several feet—I felt as if I could've easily slipped as my feet came back into contact with the sandy ground. But I didn't hesitate even a moment, barely stopped for even a fraction of a second before I was racing towards Treize with another attack. "Omae o korosu!" I declared, speaking a phrase that I had not used in many years. In one hurried attack, I pushed away his sword with my knife, and dug my claws into his chest, creating a painful scratch. Treize let out an angered growl and grabbed a handful of my shirtfront. I was lucky he didn't impale me on the spot, instead simply throwing me hard into the arena wall—I hadn't realized how close we had gotten to it.

It was a little harder to rise than it should've been after taking that blow to my head and back, but I was ready in time for Treize's next attack. I teleported out of the way, moving to stab my knife into him from behind. He let out a hiss as the blade of my knife fell deep into his flesh. Finally, I made a direct hit. I nearly lost my grip on my knife as he writhed away, though, turning sharply to the side to expose my stomach and torso. I already had my knife out of him when his sword stabbed through a lower part of my abdomen—it had all happened so fast, I could barely understand. There was no way I could've dodged.

I couldn't hold back the horrible whimper that forced its way past my lips as he slowly drew the sword from my body. I backed away, blinking heavily to overcome the silver's pain and regain my focus. I did all I could to fight the effects of the magic, subconsciously wondering _why_ it was still bothering me, even after Treize had held me captive—wouldn't I have developed a stronger immunity by now? I suddenly became very aware of Duo crying my name, but I didn't dare take my eyes off of the sick bastard before me, no matter how much I wanted to turn to my lover. As humiliating as it was, I staggered back, trying to create a bit more distance between me and my enemy.

I could feel the vampiric blood leaving my body, but surprisingly, the intensity of the silver's magic began to subside after a few moments. I kept my left hand over the wound, feeling the cool, thick crimson simply draining out of my body. I blocked Treize's sword with my knife, and the sudden need to find focus forced me out of the haze that I had unknowingly fallen into. Duo's voice filled my mind even more now, his cries from the sidelines shaking me to the core, and somehow giving me the strength to ignore the silver trying to bring me down—I had to win, I just had to. Defeat was not an option.

Still with my knife holding back Treize's blade, I pushed forward with a new strength, forcing him back and leaving him vulnerable before me. I slashed out at him, cutting into his blue uniform and drenching my knife in his blood. I kept at it, somehow pushing him back and away, suddenly seeming to gain the upper hand. I didn't consciously notice it, but the crowd had gone silent—they were undoubtedly shocked beyond belief to see me forcing their fearless leader from offense to defense. Treize only managed to block a few blows of my onslaught, despite his incredible speed and skill, and by the time I had him up against the wall, his once cerulean coat was nearly tattered and stained dark with his blood. His expression had only seemed to darken with hate; there were no visible signs that he was in pain.

Treize clearly made an attempt to successfully fight back once his backside hit the wall, but I didn't give him any space to do so. I had to win. I had to kill him. I could not let him regain the upper hand of this duel to the death. The golden glint of his blade in the arena's torchlight clashed against the stained silver of my bloodied knife, the screech of the high pitched spark resonating all the way up to the ceiling of the inverted tower. He tried to overpower me, but I fought it, even as the wound in my abdomen gave a sudden throb from the strain. I must've winced, therefore revealing my weakness, because Treize suddenly pushed even harder and I was overpowered; he forced himself away from the wall, his silver blade sparking and screeching against my knife.

Somehow, in what felt like a last ditch effort, I hurriedly ducked out of the way, pulling away my knife and slashing at his gloved hand. My impulse of a plan seemed to work, because he lost his grip and the heavy blade fell to the dusty floor. As I tried to leap back, however, I suddenly realized how flawed that attack had been. Treize wasn't weighed down by that hefty sword now, and he had his claw of a hand wrapped around my wrist before I could get away. I bit back the hiss of pain as he snapped my wrist—I lost feeling in my hand, my knife joining his blade on the ground with a clatter. And it all went downhill from there...

It all passed in an incoherent blur from the moment my knife slipped from my grasp, to when I finally regained consciousness much too many minutes later. Before I could even recover from Treize breaking my wrist, he had a handful of my short, thick hair and he was pulling me down, face first to the ground. A sharp pain erupted in my neck as his boot collided with the back of my shoulders, forcing me down harder. My head snapped back as he pulled up and back, and I lost consciousness before he could go any further. The blinding pain in my neck told me that something had been badly hurt, and I would be completely vulnerable during the handful of minutes it would take for me to heal. Even a broken neck couldn't kill a vampire, and the wound was not one caused by silver, so it would indeed heal rather quickly. I was still lost to the world until then, nonetheless, until the vampiric sleep released me...

. . .

"_HEERO! HEEEEROO! WAKE UP! GET UP!"_ Duo's telepathic cries erupted through my consciousness, forcing me to rise from the darkness before I was fully healed. His mental screams were deafening, yet my awareness was still sluggish at returning. I felt as if I was lost to a fog, but not one even remotely similar to the kind that was brought on by the silver's magic. My body felt detached, and I couldn't respond to Duo's pleas no matter how hard I tried. His 'voice' gained a different tone a little while before I managed to open my eyes though, and my vision was heavily blurred and near impossible to comprehend.

I found that I was lying on my side in the blood-speckled dirt, and the familiar glint of my knife made itself known a foot or two before me. _"HEERO!"_ Duo was screaming out to me again, and his tone possessed an emotion that I had not heard since the time that I had changed him, since the time that I had held him in my arms as he murmured what would've been his final words. My gaze slowly gained clarity, and the blue and black blurs before me became recognizable.

It was Treize... and he had Duo pinned against his chest, silver sword up against my lover's throat, as well as his own knife poised over his heart. Had Duo tried to attack Treize? Had he tried to keep Treize away from me after I had lost consciousness? My sense of sound returned to me, and the crowd was going wild, booing and cheering, all the same. But above all, I could hear Duo struggling, hear him trying to writhe away, while still keeping his throat clear of Treize's sword. I had to save him... I had to force myself up, somehow, and save my dear Duo. The desire to survive this battle was completely lost now—I just had to make sure Duo lived. I had a new reason to kill Treize now: to protect Duo from yet another brush with Death.

I was hardly even aware of my own actions as I slowly began to rise from where I had collapsed in the dirt. My limbs were trembling, and my neck seared as I tried to lift my head—I managed somehow, though. My hand felt sluggish as I clawed for my knife, and the familiar leather of the hilt was reassuring—this knife had yet to fail at protecting the lives of those close to me. A low, yet determined growl hissed past my lips as I struggled to rise, my legs feeling much too weak below me. "Let Duo go..." my voice was quiet, but I knew I had been heard—I knew Treize was watching me. My world swam as I straightened up, subconsciously trying to keep my neck straight—it was almost done healing, but 'almost' was not enough.

I took a staggering step forward, seeing nothing but Duo's frightened face for what felt like many moments. _"Heero..."_ he murmured in my mind. His hands clutched and clawed at Treize's, but the crueler of the two vampires did not budge—and judging by the expression in Duo's eyes, Treize had done nothing more than driven the two blades deeper into his flesh.

"_Du... o..."_ I mentally breathed, still finding coherent thought difficult through the haze of pain and silver's magic. I focused my gaze on Treize then, trying to regain control of my body so that I could attack. Several minutes passed in silence, just staring. My grip tightened on the hilt of my knife, and as the haze finally began to clear, the atmosphere around us began to grow heavy with hate and the desire to kill. I now knew what I would to do for my final attack. I knew how I would finish Treize off, but I had to rescue Duo first... Duo was my priority right now.

I took a slow step forward, assessing the situation rather than trying to act like I was still hurt. It was the sound of Duo letting out a fearful, hurt whimper, however, that set me into action. I wasn't quite out of the fog yet, but Duo couldn't wait any longer—he was just a fledgling, after all... Without even thinking, I teleported to stand directly before Treize and Duo. I slipped my knife underneath his sword, and grabbed the wrist holding the knife over Duo's heart. I jerked both my arms back, pulling away the sword and his hand holding the knife, all within a split second of teleporting from where I had just been standing. _"Go!"_ I ordered, directly into Duo's mind, and he teleported away from the both of us. I don't know where he went, but I didn't have time to worry about that now. As soon as Duo got free, Treize was slashing his sword at me, and trying to lash out with Duo's knife.

"Give it up, Heero! You're weak! You'll never beat me," Treize hissed as he moved to stab his sword into my stomach again. I teleported out of the way, acting on pure instinct and the dire need to _win_. I was going to go all out now, channel all my strength into the brutal end of this duel. I had to end this soon, before any more harm came to my precious Duo...

My mind was clear now, and the pain from the silver's magic was bearable. I knew that my strength was fading, though, but Treize was growing weak as well. The moment my foot made contact with the dusty floor of the arena, I had teleported once again. I landed briefly next to Treize, slashing into his upper left arm—I felt the tip of my knife graze the bone within, cutting into it slightly.

Treize growled, more in rage than in pain, leaping away from me. I landed lightly once again, before repeating the same attack, only on the other side. He was clearly having trouble holding onto his sword now, and we both knew the end was near.

He rushed at me, fangs bared in an angry cry. I leapt up, teleporting just above Treize, only to stab my knife directly into his shoulder. He let out a howl of rage—I could hear a hint of pain in his cry—as I pulled down, creating a huge gash in his shoulder as I came to land just behind him. Treize turned on his heel, quickly, and I had no time to react before Duo's knife sliced a clean cut across my stomach. Momentarily stunned, I was left vulnerable as Treize lifted up his foot and kicked me to the ground.

I teleported away as quickly as I could manage, bringing myself to the other end of the arena. The crowd was going wild as I shakily rose to my feet, my hand loosely clutching the slowly seeping wound in my gut. I felt weak, but my determination to win, to protect Duo, gave me the strength to keep fighting; I wouldn't lose, no matter the cost.

Gazing across the arena, I saw Treize, slowly making his way towards me. His shoulders were slumped from the strain of his wounds, but he seemed just as determined to come out of this victorious as I was. I frowned, gripping my knife even tighter. I stepped forward, my pace rapidly building up into a run...

It was time to end this.

As I ran, I let myself fall into a low stance, just like Duo had taught me to. Just as I was about ten feet away from Treize, right as he was preparing to defend himself from what appeared to be an obvious attack, I teleported. My knife slammed hard, all the way up to the hilt, into the small of his back. I dragged it up, quickly and roughly, creating a huge gash diagonally up to his shoulder. His cry of agony was genuine.

Not even a moment later, I teleported directly in front of him, stabbing my knife down hard into his lifeless heart. I twisted the knife, violently destroying that one vital organ. Treize slumped instantly, my knife being the only thing to keep him standing. Somehow, in his last fluttering shred of life, he glared at me, his eyes clouded with defeat. "Goodbye, Treize," I said in a moment of clarity, "Make sure you apologize to Aoiro once you get to the other side." I pulled out my knife then, letting him fall to the dusty ground. The crowd went silent—their leader had fallen.

I staggered back a few steps, staring down with wide eyes at the corpse of my enemy. I had done it. I had defeated Treize in a duel to the death... I was the leader of the Vampire Court now. My knees buckled beneath me, and I was sitting on the ground before I could even register falling. My wounds seared, but I didn't care. I was too shocked to care—the sudden, overwhelming sensation that I had _won_ had overcome me.

But then, before I even had a chance to recover, a cry rang out within the silence—a cry that only I would hear. _"HEEEEERRROO!"_ Duo's voice screamed within my consciousness, alerting me to the fact that he was not somewhere safe, and that he needed me.

"_Duo? Where are you?"_ I thought back as I quickly rose to my feet. I retrieved Duo's knife from Treize's lifeless grip, only to rise to my full height, looking around and up at the stands. An instant later, an image filled my mind, an open area in the hallways of the arena—Duo had sent me what he could see of where he was, and that's all I needed to bring myself there. Duo never replied to me in words, however, and that image only flashed in my mind for a brief second. It was as if... as if he had lost consciousness just now. Duo was in trouble...

Focusing on that fragment of a thought, I teleported to where Duo was. I was in no shape for another strenuous battle, but I had to save Duo. He'd die if I didn't try to rescue him. I found myself in a round, dimly lit room. What appeared to be the hallway into the battleground of the arena passed right through here, and the flooring was at a slight slope. There were brightly burning torches all along the walls. But in the center of this room, stood both Une and Zechs, the latter of which holding Duo's limp form against his chest, as if he had just managed to knock my lover unconscious.

Une's eyes were impossible to read behind the glint of her huge, round glasses, but it was clear by her scowl and tone that she was angry, disappointed. "Judging by your wounds, it appears that you ran away from your duel, Heero," she spat.

I ignored her criticism, even though I'd take great pleasure in being the one to tell her that her beloved Treize was dead. "Give Duo back," I ordered, taking a step forward, my knife raised. I glared at the both of them threateningly.

Zechs slung my lover's limp body up over his shoulder... My eyes went wide when I saw the dark blood staining Zechs' uniform; only, it wasn't Zechs' blood... it was Duo's. That was when I lost control. I let out a cry of rage, of distress and desperation, as I rushed at Zechs, attempting to stab my knife into his chest. He leapt back, narrowly missing my attack—he was wielding his knife, but obviously was having trouble fighting carrying Duo like he was. He nodded to Une, and she made to attack me, but I was ready. I slashed at her with my knife, but she dodged. She drew her thin silver sword and teleported to attack from behind me, but I deflected it before any damage could be done.

With my free hand, I reached up, taking hold of her sword hand and pulling my knife away. I stabbed my knife into her chest, but she managed to move out of the way enough that my blade completely missed her heart. It was enough to incapacitate her for a few moments, though, and I turned to rush at Zechs, who had been edging to make his escape. I teleported behind him, taking Duo from him and teleporting to the other end of the room, cradling my unconscious lover in my arms. I briefly glanced down, seeing the glint of the blood soaking Duo's shirtfront in the low light. I didn't have time to examine his wounds any further, as I gently sat him down on the ground, so that he was sitting up against the wall.

Wielding both Duo's knife and my own, I turned to see Zechs and Une making their way towards me, obviously determined to kill me. I wasn't used to fighting with two knifes, but I had done so in the past before; and even though I only carried one knife, battling with two seemed to be most effective against more than one opponent. I glanced back at Duo for a moment before lunging forward, slashing both knives at both of my opponents. I didn't have the strength left for an all out battle, nor could I risk moving from my position guarding Duo. This was going to be a hard battle, to say the least, but I'd go down fighting, if it came to that.

Une was undoubtedly weaker than Zechs, thanks to the gaping knife wound in her chest, so she would obviously be the easier of the two to take down. "I didn't run from that duel," I announced, slamming my knife against Une's sword, trying to stab at her with Duo's knife in the meantime. She leapt back, hissing in anger—she knew what I had meant by that comment. "I've killed both of your lovers," my tone was almost conversational as I turned to swipe at Zechs. "Don't you think it's about time you joined them?"

Zechs hissed at me, fangs bared. He opened his mouth to speak, but I landed an attack before he could say anything. Zechs' own blood mingled with Duo's on the front of his red coat, and he tried to grab at me with his free hand, no doubt trying to get a chance to use his 'talent'. Oh no... that brought a dark thought to my mind: had he used that on Duo? I growled in absolute rage, slashing at Zechs again and again, determined to bring him down. Une came after me, joining the fight again after a few moments, and I was fighting them both for many long moments. It wasn't quite clear which side had the upper hand, but I was determined not to let them have it. I let out a vengeful growl as I stabbed my knife once again into Une's chest.

I was close enough to her heart this time, that twisting my blade did enough damage to kill her, but that did nothing to ease the fact that she had landed a nasty blow as well. As her corpse fell, I staggered back a step, wincing at the feel of her sword buried in my stomach. The narrow blade had pierced all the way through, sticking out of my back in a sickening fashion. Zechs was frozen for a moment, staring in shock at Une's dead body—I had a few moments to come back to myself. Slowly, as if it would make it not hurt as much, I drew the bloodied sword from my stomach, tossing it aside. I fought to keep from falling as Zechs turned to face me, clearly hurt by seeing Une's demise.

"First Noin, then Treize, now Une? How many of us will you kill?" he demanded in rage, rushing towards me. I lifted my knife to meet his; silver clashed against silver, sparking loudly.

"As many as it takes till you leave Duo and I alone!" I pushed his knife away, letting my anger fuel me. "And I'm leader now! I have the right to kill as many of you as I want!"

Zechs spat out a growl, attempting to bring his knife down on me again. I moved out of the way, slamming both my knives into his arm, hence forcing him to release his weapon. I brought my foot up, kicking him in the chest, much like Treize had towards the end of our duel, and he staggered back a few steps. I brought myself directly in front of him, stabbing both knives into his heart, and pulling them apart, killing him then and there.

I staggered back, both knives falling from my grasp as my knees gave out beneath me once again. I curled into myself where I knelt, clutching my wounded stomach for several moments. I forced myself to rise not much later, though, needing to make sure Duo was at least somewhat alright. Gathering what was left of my strength, I edged over to him. Gently, I eased him down onto the floor, so that he was lying flat on his back. I could see just fine in the low light, and I carefully lifted his shirt so that I could see the smooth skin of his chest. I frowned at the sight of the nasty knife wound on the right side of his chest—it was level with his heart, but clearly far from it. I was relieved to see that, but it didn't change the fact that Duo was still hurt, and he could've been subject to the effects of Zechs' 'talent'.

"Duo? Duo, wake up!" my voice was shakier than I had expected, and I clutched Duo's hand in mine. I gently shook his shoulder, willing him to open his eyes, to wake and gaze up at me. He didn't stir, not even after several moments, and a horrible fear began to build up in my chest. With a grimacing frown, I lifted him up into my arms and closed my eyes on concentration. Claiming my new title would have to wait until later—I needed to make sure Duo was going to be okay first, before I did anything else.

I brought the two of us to Quatre's estate, into the bedroom we had slept in not that long ago. I laid him down on the bed, before somehow staggering over to the bedroom door. I pulled it open, forcing myself to call out, "Quatre! ...Trowa!" My voice nearly broke because of the strain. I braced myself against the doorjamb, watching and waiting for Quatre and the others. I knew they had heard me... I knew they were here.

It wasn't long until I saw the four familiar figures appear at the end of the long hallway. Quatre was the first to reach me, and he put his hands at my sides to help steady me, "Heero! You're back! Did you win?" He was shocked to see me here, I was sure.

I nodded, but then turned to make my way back into the room, "Duo's hurt..." I managed. The exhaustion was beginning to take its toll, now that I was away from the hectic battleground. I managed one last glance at Duo lying unconscious, before I too gave in to the unforgiving darkness—my knees buckled, and I fell to the floor.

. . .

I awoke to find the bedroom dimly lit by several candles. I was lying in the soft bed, the blankets drawn up to my waist. I turned my head, finding Duo lying beside me, seeming to be sleeping peacefully. White bandages were wrapped around his torso—as was mine—and they only served to make his deathly pale skin seem darker, somehow. I placed my hand over his listless one, willing him to soon wake.

Sometime later, I'm not sure exactly how long, Duo's eyes slowly began to flutter open. He turned his head, gazing at me with deep, hazy violet eyes. I rolled closer to him, pressing my lips to his in a gentle kiss. "Are you okay?" I asked quietly, before letting our lips mesh again.

"I think so," Duo sighed as I pulled away. "What about you though...? Treize beat you up so bad... I knew you'd beat him, but still..."

I placed my other hand on the side of his face, stroking his cheek with my thumb. "I'll be fine," I promised, then after a few moments, "If you're up for it, we should both go feed."

"Yeah, we should," agreed Duo, sitting up in the bed. I rose as well, and we slowly got dressed. I took his hand in mine, and with a nod, brought us both to some crowded city. It was early dawn here, so we stuck to the shadows, making our way through a dark alley to the back door of a busy coffee shop. We both fed well, returning to Quatre's estate not much later.

Back in the dim light of our bedroom, I pulled Duo close to me, "It's over now, Duo... it's finally over."

His arms went up over my shoulders, his lips pressing against mine, "I know Heero, and we made it through, somehow." Duo was grinning at me, and I smiled back; it was hard to believe that we finally had the peace we had striven for these past several months. It was finally over... Duo and I could finally be together, without anything to bother us.

* * *

**there IS an epilogue after this, which i am about to go post... i think the epilogue kinda makes up for this crap right here. i honestly couldnt think of how to end this chapter...**


	13. Epilogue

**so yeah, here it is. the dead end. enjoy...**

* * *

Bloodstained Devotion

Epilogue

The next night, once the silver's magic had completely worn off, and our wounds had healed, Duo and I teleported to the throne room of the Vampire Court. I squeezed Duo's hand in mine as I looked around the enormous throne room—it was so different seeing through my eyes now, than it had been when I had been here as a prisoner, not all that long ago. Looking down, I frowned; this was the exact spot where I had been bound and tortured by Treize. Duo's hand squeezed mine, and I looked up, seeing a young-looking vampire making her way towards us.

There was a group of what appeared to be the Court's officials standing in a group over by the large throne itself, and a girl, who appeared to be the same age as Duo and I, was walking towards us from that direction. She wore a military uniform, like the rest of Treize's henchmen had—it wasn't as fancy as Zechs' or Une's, but it was definitely for someone of a higher rank than the dungeon guards. Her short black hair hung in her face slightly, and her complexion was flushed, as if she had recently fed. When she came up to us, she _bowed_ to me. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Your Excellency, Heero Yuy," she smiled, and I could tell it was sincere. It was obvious that she felt I deserved the title she had just addressed me with. "I'm Hilde Schbeiker, currently the highest rank officer of Treize's former regime. We've been waiting for you to return, Mr. Yuy, sir."

I certainly wasn't used to the formalities, to say the least. "It's a pleasure to meet you too," I paused, not quite sure what to say. I glanced at Duo, and he smiled at me. "So now that I'm here, is there going to be some sort of ceremony or something?" I asked.

Hilde nodded, "Yes, sir. The ceremony for you to receive your title as ruler was put on hold until you returned; but it'll only take about an hour to get everything set up, and send word to the vampires in Blood City."

"Alright," I nodded. "We'll come back in about an hour, then," I informed her.

She bowed, "Of course, Your Excellency." With that, Hilde left, heading back to the other group of vampires.

I turned to face Duo, "How about we head back, and get changed into something nice? ...And grab Quatre and the others, while we're at it?" I smirked, and Duo laughed.

"Sure," he said.

. . .

Almost an hour later, Duo and I were standing together, behind the large chair of the throne room. They were letting in the crowd now, and we could hear the anxious chatter. I hugged Duo close, and our lips meshed in a passionate, hungry kiss.

"You finally got what you wanted," Duo murmured when we broke apart.

I kissed his forehead. "More than what I wanted," I corrected, "I was beyond content the moment I met you."

Duo looked up at me and smiled, kissing me on the cheek, "Give 'em your best, Heero." Duo grinned at me, before stepping away and going to join Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, and Sally over on the sidelines.

I turned to see Hilde waiting for me just outside the shadow of the throne, and I went over to her. "Are you ready, sir?" she asked with a smile.

I nodded, following her out to stand on the steps directly in front of the crowd. Another vampire came out to join us as well, standing a few steps higher; he was holding something wrapped in a cobalt satin cloth. The crowd went silent when I turned to face them, feeling a brief glimpse of the power I was about to receive title to.

With the crowd now quiet, Hilde nodded to me, and stepped down a few steps. "My fellow Vampires," she declared, her voice echoing within the stony walls, "Blood Brothers and Sisters, The old regime has fallen!" Cheers resounded, only to be quelled a moment later. "And in its place, a new leader has risen! His Excellency, Heero Yuy!" The crowd went wild then, cheering my name, over and over in excitement—it was strange, knowing it might be some of the same vampires that had been booing me not twenty-four hours ago. The vampire who had been holding the satin cloth made his way down to Hilde, handing her the package of sorts. She nodded to him, and he disappeared up the stairs.

Hilde stepped up to stand beside me, and I turned to face her. "This artifact," she said, "Has been blessed to represent your title as leader of the Vampire Court. Every leader receives one, and this particular artifact was meant for he that turned you." I was a little shocked to hear those last few lines—he that turned me? As in Aoiro? Hilde just smiled, unwrapping the satin coverings with her gloved hands. When she was finished, a sight from my past was sitting there, just as perfect as I remembered it, on the blue satin. It was Aoiro's silver knife...

I picked up the short blade, admiring the intricate inlay of cobalt and onyx jewels in the hilt, as well as the perfect black sheath. I had never once held this knife in my own hands, only being permitted to admire it from afar, and now... it was mine. I slowly drew the blade, the silver glinting beautifully in the golden light of the many torches lighting the throne room. I turned to face the crowd again, still wielding the knife. "Vampires! Blood Brothers! I am your true leader, Heero Yuy! I am the last direct fledgling of the great Aoiro, the hero of the Blood Wars! I hereby abolish Treize's dictatorship, and restore the Vampire Court to its former hierarchy!" The crowd went wild then, cheering once more and I smiled, turning and beckoning for Duo to join me where I stood before the throne.

He smiled, and I quickly sheathed Aoiro's knife before picking Duo up into my arms and kissing him with everything I had.

Everything was perfect now...

OWARI

* * *

**the end! finally! i'm so glad its over! XD **

**so i've got one other fic i wanna finish before i start something new... i'll see if i can get anything done on that tomorrow... so yeah. until then!  
**


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